Waterloo Architecture in Venice

The presence of Waterloo Architecture in Venice over the past decade is remarkable: in five consecutive instances, Waterloo Architecture’s faculty and graduates have been selected to represent Canada at the most prestigious international exhibition of architecture. Over 200,000 visitors make their way to la Biennale di Venezia where every even year, architecture is celebrated in the Arsenale and Giardini of the city of Venice, Italy.

Selected from Waterloo exhibits and projects shown at the past five Architectural Biennales plus one intervention into the 2015 Art Biennale, the work assembled at Design at Riverside testifies to the breadth and critical depth of research the School of Architecture fosters. Rich with prototypes, tests, photographs but also shipping plans, Waterloo Architecture in Venice offers a glimpse into what it means to research, plan, build, ship and install an architectural exhibition some thousands of kilometers away, from the shore of the Grand River to the Venetian Lagoon.

A note from the curator:

In 2008, 41° to 66°: Regional Responses to Sustainable Architecture in Canada was selected by the Canada Council to represent Canada at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, Italy.  The exhibition, curated by John McMinn and Marco Polo, had originally been created in collaboration with, and specifically for Design at Riverside, who published the catalogue, and organized a national exhibition tour.

As Canadian Commissioner responsible for financial stewardship and logistics for the Venice project, the gallery became immersed in the fascinating and complex world of the Biennale. To provide a taste of the Venice experience, and as a gesture of thanks to the City of Cambridge, the Canada Council, and the local and regional sponsors who had helped make the Venice Biennale exhibition possible, re-mounted the new Venice version of the exhibition at Design at Riverside in the summer of 2009. This was the first time a Biennale exhibition of architecture had been repatriated and the response from the community was tremendous.

Design at Riverside has continued to develop and support exhibitions related to the Canadian Biennale entries for Canadian audiences, and this unique exhibition highlighting the achievements of Waterloo Architecture in Venice in every Biennale since 2008, continues that tradition.

Congratulations!

Esther E. Shipman
Curator, Architecture & Design