Israel Pavilion Venice Biennale Photo Dacian Groza

At the upcoming 15th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, the Israel Pavilion will unveil LifeObject: Merging Architecture and Biology, a large scale sculptural installation exhibited alongside seven speculative architectural scenarios relating to the Israel spatial reality. The pavilion is re-conceived from a mere exhibition space into a research oriented platform that will foster renewed dialogue between architecture and biology, and will open to the public during the preview weekend, May 26 - 27, 2016, and on display to the public through November 2016.

At the center of the exhibition is the LifeObject, a free standing structure inspired by a 3D scan of a bird's nest. This structure undulates and curves throughout the lower floor of the pavilion. This living structure integrates artificial and natural elements into an organic system. An experimental research approach to matter, LifeObject combines composite, smart and biological materials to form a “living structure” that responds to its environment. Human presence around the LifeObject triggers the opening of cabinet de curiosités filled with biological materials which are expected to have a significant impact on architectural design and construction.

In order to explore these dynamics further, the curatorial team, including architects Bnaya Bauer, Arielle Blonder, Noy Lazarovich, scientist Dr. Ido Bachelet and curator Dr. Yael Eylat Van-Essen, invited seven groups of architects and scientists, among them Prof. Dan Shechtman, a Noble Prize Laureate, to synergize their knowledge, and reorient their approach towards architecture. Examples range from using nano-materials to naturally control transparency in desert structures, to employing cancer treatment techniques to deal with urban densification. Some of these speculations can be actualized, while others constitute new visions for the future.



The exhibition revolves around the biological paradigm that draws increasing interest in the field of contemporary architecture: From the nano-scale of individual cells to larger global environmental phenomena and from materials to the resulting structures and urban spaces they create, the exhibition examines new relations taking shape between human beings and their environment. The new methodologies derived from this approach discard the binary distinction between nature and culture, positioning architectural construction as part of a larger ecosystem. LifeObject is based on interdisciplinary research that investigates future directions in architectural practice through materiality, in order to more effectively broach mechanisms of formation and performance. The exhibition joins biomimetic practices along with practices of bio fabrication and synthetic biology.

The conceptual foundation of the exhibition centers upon 'resilience', an essential element of biological systems that refers to their ability to cope with shock or trauma. This concept bears increased significance upon Israel and its geo-political context, where states of crisis continually rise up, greatly influencing quality of life and spatial design.