The team used special “playing cards” to create “Freespace” with the city’s characteristics.
Organised by the Macao Museum of Art (MAM) of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), in co-operation with the Architects Association of Macau (AAM), the exhibition of “Unintended Architecture – Exhibits from Macao, China” will be inaugurated at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy, at 6pm (local time) on 25 May.
This year marks the third year of organising Macao architects to participate in the world-leading “International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia” as representatives of “Macao, China”, the IC once again strives to present projects by Macao architects in the international arena. Following a meticulous assessment of the projects selected by the jury, the exhibition team, with members an average age of 30, comprises the curator Manuel Lam Lap Yan and three local architects Eddie Ieong Chong Tat, Vong Ka Ian and Benny Chu Hou San.
In order to answer the theme “Freespace” of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the team probed into spaces with local flavour 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, up to the stairway of the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the “interaction” existing within these places inadvertently creates a characteristic space that blends with daily life and a sense of human touch. It was precisely in this manner that the team conceived the concept of “Unintended Architecture”.
In this exhibition, through transformations and arrangements, the “playing cards” which symbolise Macao’s rapid economic development, change and leave blank (white spaces) in complex spaces, creating four exhibition spaces with the city’s characteristics – “Market”, “Park”, “Home” and “Stairway”, revealing the various forms of “interaction” between people and spaces as well as their complicated relationship.
“Unintended Architecture” is a combination of architecture, folklore and aesthetics, among other elements. The Director of MAM, Chan Kai Chon, indicates in the exhibition preface that the artwork has reconstructed the uniqueness of Macao as a city where the East meets the West in an abstract way, as well as the examples of architecture which represents Macao’s cityscape and the public’s daily lives. The “Freespace” reflected in the artwork shows the world the team’s cultural confidence and their latest perception of the society as well as an imagined future.
The exhibition “Unintended Architecture” runs from 26th May to 25th November, daily from 10am to 6pm (local time) and closes on Mondays. The exhibition hall is located in front of the Arsenale, one of the main Biennale Exhibition venue, with address at Arsenale, Campo della Tana, Castello 2126/A, Venice, Italy. For more information, please contact the MAM, during office hours (Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6:30pm) through the telephone no. 8791 9814.
