The Latvian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia exhibition looked at apartment buildings as a category of architecture that simultaneously generates both isolation and interdependence. Not surprisingly, apartment buildings have often been used for testing and introducing new modes of organising society. This has definitely been evident in Latvia, where nowadays two-thirds of the population reside in apartment buildings — the highest ratio in Europe. For many, apartment living constitutes the most common experience of architecture. The exhibition is organised in four independent sections: Promise, Distance, Self, and Warmth. Each of them acts both as a statement and an open question about the future of apartment living in Latvia, as well as in broader geographies.
Year: 2018
Team: curators — Matiss Groskaufmanis, Gundega Laivina, Evelina Ozola, Anda Skrejane, exhibitors — Ivars Drulle, Martins Duselis, Reinis Hofmanis, Daria Melnikova, Dita Pane, Charlotte Spichalsky
Client: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia
Photos © Ansis Starks