Christopher Kelly visited the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale this week, and visited the New Zealand pavilion in the Palazzo Pisani S. Maria. The title chosen by curator Rem Koolhaas for the Exhibition is "Fundamentals". Some of the major countries have their exhibitions in bespoke pavilions grouped in the Gardini. Other countries are invited to exhibit in the huge Arsenale building (the mediaeval ship building yards in Venice) or rent an exhibition space in Venice itself (as NZ has done). Rem Koolhaas has stated:

“Fundamentals will be a Biennale about architecture, not architects. After several Biennales dedicated to the celebration of the contemporary, Fundamentals will focus on histories – on the inevitable elements of all architecture used by any architect, anywhere, anytime (the door, the floor, the ceiling etc.) thereby showcasing the technical evolution and cultural history of building components exhibited in the analysis and exploration of these 15 elements”.

We are pleased that Architecture Workshop’s Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre features prominently in the New Zealand exhibition.