At the 14th Venice Arquitecture Biennale, participating countries explore the last century of building history – together, rather than as competitors. They are all focused on one issue: “Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014”, the title chosen by curator Rem Koolhaas for this year’s biennale. In the spirit of that theme, for the National Pavilions, Koolhaas asked the participating countries to comment on their indigenous architecture. All countries are working together on this topic, after the competition seen on the last years. And the concept has been working as this year’s Biennale has more visitors than ever before.

There are no buildings here, nor the work of any star architects, only the “elements” of architecture (ceilings, floors, walls, fireplaces, stairs, those balconies) as seen in models, photographs, and wall texts. As in a dream (or a nightmare), nothing quite hangs together, so you go wandering through the remains of architecture. – W Magazine

“Crow’s Eye View” – Golden Lion Winner at the Venice Biennale 2014

The constrast between the absorptions of modernity of North Korea and South Korea and the relation between the two neighboring nations, are represented in Korea’s Pavilion in an exhibition called Crow’s Eye View, winner of the Gold Lion at the Venice Biennale 2014.

“The Urburb – Patterns of Contemporary Living”

The book was written to accompany the exhibition on Israeli Pavilion. It tells the story of the Urburb, a built condition which is neither urban nor suburban, that dominates the contemporary Israeli landscape.

The “Urban Interior” of Jimenez Lai

“domesticity is possibly one of the origins of architecture” says Jimenez Lai, “the standardization of the domestic program was…a very modern development.”. So Lai built nine single-program houses within the Palazzo della Prigioni, each dedicated to one specific domestic act–such as sleeping, eating, etc.

The Venice Biennale 2014 will be open until the 23th November – and it is an exhibition worth going to.