Day off Diary: Crystal

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

 Stanley Kubrick photography exhibition at Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arte
Graffiti exhibition S.a.L.E Docks (Rebiennale)

Daylight Saving

No longer will we see this beautiful sunset when we are walking home from work. Yes, the clocks turn back in Italy too!

Picture taken on Wednesday

Tour 1: The Canadian Pavilion

'In an age when genetic engineering works invisibly to the human eye... Philip Beesley's interactive installations - part creations, part environments; part mechanical, part biological - remind us that the cosmological point of reference of architecture has shifted from the human to the none human.' Detlef Mertins (Professor of Architecture University of Pennsylvania)


Hylozoic Ground is an interactive sculptural room containing hanging matrix structures which respond to swallowing and breathing, which is meant to create a natural motion of ripples.  Click here for more information on their pavilion.

Suggestions and Comments

This is a live project and we are open to any suggestions. If you would like a tour of another pavilion, posts about the exhibits or collaborators just leave a comment or e-mail britishpavilion@gmail.com

German Pavilion Workshop

On Tuesday we watched as a group of students from the German pavilion (our next door neighbours) blew up helium balloons and spoke like the Smurfs. In the afternoon they wrote architectural aspirations on cards and let them go. Groups of students often visit the Biennale and use the experience in a completely different way to other visitors.

The Ruskin Archive Room

Yesterday Martin Seddon from the Ruskin library visited the pavilion. His photograph has been wallpapered onto the back wall of the archive room. The image shows a British house directly influenced by Ruskin's, 'The Stones of Venice'.

The Gavagnin's Party

Alvio and Gabriella Gavagnin had a small celebration with relatives, friends and neighbours from Castello Basso. Their work is exhibited in the pavilion as part of the Done.Book project by Wolfgang Scheppe. For more on the Done.Book project which draws on both their research and pictures click here.

*Gavagnin- beige coat, first picture

Monday's Aqua Alto

On Monday we were awoken at 7am by the Aqua Alta sirens, warning us that Venice had flooded - definitely a day for wellies! However we seemed to be the only 'tourists' prepared for the flood. One of the British pavilion collaborators is Venice in Peril an organisation focusing their work on the environmental issues surrounding Venice. 

'Flooding remains one of Venice's serious issues not just because the 1966 disaster focused attention on the vulnerability of the cities precious heritage and residents, but also because modern (chronic) flooding is occurring increasingly frequently.'
The Science of Saving Venice by Caroline Fletcher and Jane Da Mosto

Group Three

We are the final four stewards looking after Villa Frankenstein until 21st November. We arrived yesterday and have been shadowing the former group over the weekend. Today we are going solo.

Claire- Part 1 Architecture, Newcastle University

Crystal- Part 2 Architecture, London Met.

James- Part 1 Architecture, Liverpool University

Jess- MA Curating Contemporary Design, Kingston University

Workshop Progression.

Day in the Life of Villa Frankenstein

Puddle Cleaning and Lagoon Diary.