The European biennials to mark on your agenda

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Turenscape, KongjianYu. Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2022

With the arrival of autumn, architecture-related international events have started up again. From Estonia to France, Norway, the Netherlands and Portugal, the architecture and design biennials and triennials are back

As well as Lisbon, where Terra, the sixth edition of the Architecture Triennale is taking place, other notable events include the sixth edition of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, TAB 2022, in Estonia until 20th November.

Organised by the Estonian Centre for Architecture, and curated by Lydia Kallipoliti and Areti Markopoulou, the theme of the festival is "Edible; Or, The Architecture of Metabolism", geared to encouraging architects and designers to take a more dynamic stance when harnessing the expressive power of architecture when it comes to creating circular processes and generating resources that self-decompose. The public is invited to reflect on the links between food and architecture, reinventing the global food system and examining the power of architecture to generate metabolic processes. In particular, the Fungible Non-Fungible Pavilion, designed by the Vienna-based studio iheartblob is the upshot of the first crowd-funded architectural proposal, in which the investors also become the co-designers. In this instance, the architect’s role is conceived as a designer of systems combining innovative technologies to empower communities through the use of blockchains and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Where: Tallinn

When: 7th September to 20th November 2022

Curators: Lydia Kallipoliti & Areti Markopoulou

di cui abbiamo parlato qui

edible, metabolic, tallin, salone milano — Edible, Metabolic Home, Everything's on the table, ph. Tõnu Tunnel

Women are the protagonists of the 2022 Biennale of FRAC Centre-Val de Loire in Vierzon, France. Entitled Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy, the exhibition features work by women artists and architects and runs until 1st January 2023.

The 50 or so selected artists are the interpreters of an international event that becomes a place of symbolic appropriation, in which the artworks represent new urban practices, slotting into the spaces and places of sociality. A series of events will take place around the city of Vierzon, including The Utopia of Territories, The Third Feminism and Subversive Tenderness. The exhibition The World Built by Women is of particular note, bringing together collections from three French cultural institutions (Centre Pompidou, Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine and Frac Centre-Val de Loire). It will explore most of the works by women architects, from public housing to memorials.

Where: Vierzon

When: 16th September 2022 to 1st January 2023

Art Direction: Marine Bichon, Abdelkader Damani, Nabila Metaïr

Biennale FRAC Center-Val de Loire

biennale francia, salone milano — Biennale FRAC Centre-Val de Loire 2022, ph. Martin Argyroglo

For fans of Northern Europe, the 8th edition of the Oslo Architecture Triennale is being held in Norway until 30th October. Curated by Christian Pagh, director of the event, the theme is Mission Neighbourhood - (Re)forming Communities, geared to how the principles that regulate the development of the neighbourhoods in which we live might be changed, highlighting the fact that the concept of neighbourhoods is understood as a horizon for rethinking our cities, exploring the ways in which we build our shared places.

The prevailing idea is to create a more sustainable environment, and Mission Neighbourhood is a clear call to action for more inspiring planning for uplifting places. The contribution from Peter Cook is particularly noteworthy, allowing others to see cities through fresh eyes and reminding us that we can all be part of the design of new (visions of) cities and places.

When: 22nd September to 30th October 2022.

Curator: Christian Pagh

Oslo Architecture Triennale

triennale oslo, ways of living, sharing, salone milano — Ways of living, ways of sharing, ph. Sindre Ellingsen. Neighbourhood Lab

The key questions driving the 10th edition of the Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, IABR, are how can we design our world in a sustainable way and what is transitional architecture? Entitled It’s About Time, the exhibition runs until 13th November. Around 50 designers, architects and researchers take a thought-provoking approach to safeguarding the future of our planet and trying to counteract the effects of climate change.

Fifty years after the publication of the Club of Rome Limits to Growth Report, the exhibition shows how we can harness spatial design processes in an attempt to tackle the ecological crisis. The Keilepand area hosts the work of The Future Generation in an exhibition that comprises a selection of graduation projects by students from the Netherlands and Belgium. Connecting the two exhibitions is a programme of guided tours, lectures, debates and workshops for children and young people.

When: 22nd September to 13th November 2022

Curators: Peter Veenstra, Léa-Catherine Szacka, Véronique Patteeuw and Derk Loorbach

Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2022