Rethinking desired
AGROB BUCHTAL is pleased to be present this year, as sponsor of the exhibition "Open for Maintenance - wegen Umbau geöffnet" in the German Pavilion of the 18th Architecture Biennale. The commitment is fitting for the German manufacturer and world market leader for architectural and swimming pool ceramics, which is also constantly rethinking and innovating ceramic tile for the building sector.
The German Biennale contribution of "Open for Maintenance - Wegen Umbau geöffnet " is dedicated to the spectrum of repairing, maintaining and servicing. In the sense of individual and collective care, a multitude of spatial interventions will make these otherwise rather inconspicuous processes visible and bring the necessity of continuous, everyday maintenance work on the structural and social stock into focus. The concept functions as a kind of laboratory for best practices and thus picks up on Lesley Lokko's guiding theme of the Biennale: The Laboratory of the Future.
Agrob Buchtal is also developing in the laboratory in order to make topics such as recyclable or material-reduced ceramic tiles for renovation projects and sustainable design available to the building sector. "We are aware of the urgency of sustainable construction at a very high required pace of innovation. Being part of such a unique cultural event as the Venice Architecture Biennale therefore fills us with pride. But supporting the concept of the curatorial team for the German pavilion is more: the idea convinced us immediately," says Christoph Schulze, Marketing Manager Agrob Buchtal.
We asked Anh-Linh Ngo last autumn what to expect in the pavilion and what the goals are, immediately after the selection and announcement of the curatorial team, which includes members of the ARCH+ editorial team and architects, namely: Anne Femmer, Franziska Gödicke, Juliane Greb, Christian Hiller, Petter Krag, Melissa Makele, Anh-Linh Ngo, Florian Summa. Ngo's answer: "We first deal with the Biennale and its sometimes unfavourable effects on Venice. Every year, resources are used on a grand scale for exhibition architecture and then disposed of as worthless rubbish. We also want to contribute to an appreciation of the work of those who care for and maintain the green spaces, pavilions, sanitary facilities or works of art. On the urban level, the many "collateral events" attract tourists on a massive scale, which increasingly displaces local residents. Housing and public spaces are also coming under increasing pressure. This is exactly where we come in: By converting the German Pavilion into a functioning infrastructure with partly reused materials, we are creating a platform. In doing so, we are giving space and voice to people who offer solutions to this development.
According to the curators, the exhibition "Open for Maintenance" is based on the idea of using the Biennale to present a broad spectrum of interventions, positions and collective forms of organisation. The team's work has met with increasing acceptance both in the architecture and construction industry and among the general public, and it draws attention to options for action as an incentive for society to become active itself. In the process, projects are not conveyed in the classic way with text and photos, but as tangible, spatial principles within a functioning infrastructure. Rethinking desired!
SAVE THE DATE: Open for Maintenance – Wegen Umbau geöffnet German Pavilion, 18th International Architecture Exhibition Venice La Biennale di Venezia Duration: 20 May to 26 November 2023 https://archplus.net/de/open-for-maintenance/ [archplus.net]
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