The Danish Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

Con-nect-ed-ness: The Danish Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia focuses on people’s connection with each other and with nature, in a total installation consisting of a giant cyclic system of water collected locally in Venice. 

With reference to the main theme of the Biennale Architettura 2021, “How will we live together?”, the Danish contribution reminds us of how architecture as an art form can render the invisible visible, and evoke an indelible sense of connection between people and the Earth’s elements. 

Kvadrat is proud to support this showcase with 207 metres of textiles, forming a significant element of the exhibition. The textiles are stretched and hung from the ceiling in the installation to create an atmospheric experience where the material works in harmony with water.  

Working together, the exhibition architects, Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects, and curator Marianne Krogh, have created a total installation that completely transforms the Danish Pavilion and immerses it in nature’s cyclic system – with water as the core element. The site-specific exhibition caters to all the senses.The work comprises connected rooms where the water flows in, becomes part of the exhibition and sensory experience, and then leaves the pavilion again, through bodies, evaporation, photosynthesis, and absorption into the ground. 
 
“We believe that, through our senses, we can begin to understand ourselves in a larger context. This is the first step toward taking responsibility, both in our approach to the planet and to each other,”says Marianne Krogh. 

While exploring the various spaces of the exhibition, visitors can become part of the cyclic system by drinking a cup of tea brewed with leaves from the lemon verbena trees planted in the pavilion – trees which also absorb water from the extensive cyclic system. 
 
The exhibition asks the question: How can we (re)create a new, meaningful relationship with the world as a place where we recognize the fundamental condition that we are connected – not just with each other, but with all living beings? The dependence between humans and Earth as the basis for a sustainable future for all is illustrated by linking the pavilion’s installation directly to the planet’s own cyclic system. 

Danish Architecture Center has been appointed by the Ministry of Culture Denmark as commissioner of the official Danish exhibition at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The project is sponsored by Realdania, the Ministry of Culture Denmark, and the Danish Arts Foundation’s Committee for Architecture Grants and Project Funding. 

About the International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia runs fromMay 22 through November 21, 2021.