Architecture with local features to be exhibited in Venice

The exhibition team shows Macau’s free space through combinations of “playing cards” of different materials

The exhibition of “Unintended Architecture – Exhibits from Macau, China” is ready to be showcased at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. The works that constitute the Macau exhibition were sent to Venice in early March and the exhibition team will start setting up exhibits on-site in mid-May. The international exhibition will start on May 26 in Venice, closing on November 25.

This is the third time that the Cultural Affairs Bureau has arranged for the participation of local architects in the event. Recently, the Macau Arts Museum (MAM) held a session to introduce the works of the exhibition.

To address the theme of the Biennale (“Freespace”), the team probed into spaces with local flavor and explored elements of interaction between people and daily spaces: from the open air market at Rua da Emenda, the pathways of Lou Lim Ieoc Garden, the densely populated high-rise buildings, to the stairway of the Ruins of St. Paul’s.

The exhibition used acrylic and metal plates to build the “playing cards” which symbolize the SAR’s economic development.

Through different sizes, shapes, textures and arrangements, the playing cards transform and leave blanks in complex spaces, simplifying them into elements that symbolize the region and creating four exhibition spaces with four different themes.

The blanks allow viewers to project their own feelings, memories and imaginings onto the exhibits, thus allowing them to experience the “Unintended Architecture”. This refers to the interactive perception of spatial elements and the process of reflecting on the harmonious relationship established between people and space, the IC noted.

The director of MAM, Chan Kai Chon, believes that the “free space” in imagination reflected in the works shows the world the team’s cultural confidence and their latest perception of society, and also offers future possibilities for ideas.