Image courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
On Jan. 17, the Venice Biennale Foundation announced Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara as the director of the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale. They co-founded Grafton Architects in Dublin, Ireland, which has been receiving attention for introducing a new breed of architecture that combines the historic and the contemporary, the public and the private realm. Paolo Baratta (chairman, Venice Biennale Foundation) said, ‘Last year, Alejandro Aravena provided a view towards the social function of architecture. This year, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara will deal with public and private space, urban space, and territorial space as part of the overall scenery’. He added, ‘Their refined lesson has the potential to inspire and to lead the new generation’. Grafton Architects has mainly designed public facilities, including schools and public offices. Their main projects include Luigi Bocconi University, New University Campus for UTEC Lima, Kingston University Town House, and the School of Economics of the University of Toulouse. They began their teaching careers in University College of Dublin in 1976, and have been steadily teaching around Europe and the US, including at the National Gallery of Ireland and the Royal Academy in London. They received the Silver Lion Prize at the 2012 Venice Biennale. The 16th Venice Architecture Biennale will take place from May 26 – Nov. 25, 2018. As with the previous biennale, the commissioner of the Korean pavilion will be selected according to the theme of the Venice Biennale.