Awards of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition

The international Jury of the 17^th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia composed by Kazuyo Sejima (president, Japan), Sandra Barclay (Peru), Lamia Joreige (Lebanon), Lesley Lokko (Ghana-Scotland), Luca Molinari (Italy), has decided to present the following awards:

Golden Lion for Best National Participation:

United Arab Emirates
Wetland
Commissioner: Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation
Supporter: UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth
Curators: Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto
Exhibitors: waiwai, New York University - Abu Dhabi (Amber Lab), University of Tokyo (Sato Lab and Obuchi Lab), American University of Sharjah (Dept. of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences), Farah Al Qasimi
Publication: written by Ahmed & Rashid Bin Shabib, Co-edited by Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto, with contribution from Marina Tabassum
Venue: Arsenale

Two special mentions has been awarded to the following National Participations:

RUSSIA
Open!
Commissioner: Teresa Iarocci Mavica
Curator: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli
Exibitors: KASA (Kovaleva and Sato Architects), Mikhail Maximov, Lion & Unicorn, Ilia Mazo, Yuliya Kozhemyako, Electric Red, Pavel Milyakov aka Buttechno, Vladmir Rannev
Venue: Giardini

and

PHILIPPINES
Structures of Mutual Support
Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso, Chairman;
Curators/Exibitors: Framework Collaborative (GK Enchanted Farm Community,
Architects Sudarshan Varsovia Khadka Jr. and Alexander Eriksson Furunes)
Venue: Arsenale

Golden Lion for the best participant in the 17^th Exhibition How will we live together? to:

raumlaborberlin
(Berlin, Germany)
Instances of Urban Practice
Andrea Hofmann (Germany, 1969), Axel Timm (Germany, 1973), Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius (Germany, 1968), Christof Mayer (Germany, 1967), Florian Stirnemann (Swiss, 1976),
Francesco Apuzzo (Italy, 1972), Frauke Gerstenberg (Germany, 1968),
Jan Liesegang (Germany, 1968) and Markus Bader (Germany, 1968)
Venue: Corderie of the Arsenale

Silver Lion for a promising young participant in the 17^th Exhibition How will we live together? to:

Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST)
(Amsterdam, The Netherlands; New York, USA)
Watermelons, Sardines, Crabs, Sands, and Sediments: Border Ecologies and the Gaza Strip
with contributions by Amir Qudaih (Palestine, 1993) and the Qudaih family (Palestine),
Yael Berda (Israeli, 1976), Sandra Kassenaar (Dutch, 1982),
and Malkit Shoshan (Israeli/ Dutch, 1976)
Venue: Central Pavilion – Giardini

The Jury has decided to award one special mention to the following Participant:

Cave_bureau
(Nairobi, Kenya)
The Anthropocene Museum: Exhibit 3.0 Obsidian Rain
Kabage Karanja (Kenya, 1979) and Stella Mutegi (Kenya, 1979),
in collaboration with Densu Moseti (Kenya, 1986)
Venue: Central Pavilion – Giardini

Furthermore, Lina Bo Bardi, the Italian architect, designer, scenographer, artist and critic naturalized as a Brazilian citizen, is the recipient of the Special Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in memoriam of the 17^th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The acknowledgment was recommended by Hashim Sarkis, curator of the Biennale Architettura 2021, and approved by the Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia.

The Awards Ceremony of the 17^th International Architecture Exhibition took place on August 30^th 2021 at Ca’ Giustinian, the headquarters of La Biennale di Venezia, at 4 pm.

Golden Lion for Best National Participation to United Arab Emirates for a bold experiment which encourages us to think about the relationship between waste and production at both the local and global scales, and opens to new construction possibilities between craft and high technology.

Special mention as National Participation to Russia for a sensitive and careful architectural renovation of a historical pavilion at the Giardini that opens it to its immediate surroundings and to the future.

Special mention as National Participation to Philippines for this exemplary community project that creates a rich archive and experience of collaborative construction practices. 

Golden Lion for the best participant in the 17^th Exhibition How will we live together? to raumlaborberlin (Berlin, Germany) for an inspiring collaborative approach that argues for participation, regeneration and collective responsibility, resulting in two projects that are a model for imaginative civic revitalization.

Silver Lion for a promising young participant in the 17^th Exhibition How will we live together? to Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory (FAST) (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; New York, USA) for a daring proposal that invites us to think about divided histories, agricultural practices, rituals of daily life and the realities of settlement and occupation.

Special mention to the participant in the 17^th Exhibition How will we live together? to Cave_bureau  (Nairobi, Kenya) for an imaginative and creative exploration of one of man’s oldest living environments.