National Pavilions

Three nations exemplify a "Common Ground" at the Biennale Architettura 2012 in Venice

“Common Ground”—the theme this year for Venice’s Biennale Architettura 2012—covers all exhibition spaces from Giardini to Arsenale, as well as the vast range of venues spread out all over town. Fitting into this larger concept while presenting their own respective themes were a number of national participants. Here are three standouts from Japan, Russia and the USA. USA For its unifying motif the US chose …

Ovo

Furniture design described through various thematic lenses in a new book from the Brazilian design duo

by Felipe Meres São Paulo design duo Luciana Martins and Gerson de Oliveira of Ovo have recently released Mobiliário_OVO, a book about their furniture design, iconic objects and art projects. For more than a decade the designers have developed an array of exquisite and clever pieces that are at once elegant, humorous and casual. Instead of choosing to order chapters chronologically, according to the functionality …

Torre David / Gran Horizonte

Caracas' 45-story slum examined at the Architecture Biennale in Venice

Torre David is an abandoned 45-story skyscraper located in Caracas, Venezuela. After the death of the developer in 1993 and the collapse of the Venezuelan economy a year later, the office tower was almost complete, but the construction was suddenly and inexorably interrupted. Today Torre David is a real vertical slum occupied by a community of more than 750 families. The residents of the tower …