As a guest exhibitor at the Salon Suisse in the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, the University of Liechtenstein, in the person of Professor Peter Staub and his team from the Institute of Architecture and Planning, presented the New Schools of Thought (NeST) project on the opening day of this year’s Venice Biennale.
International research project
NeST is a research project which investigates the boundaries of architecture in teaching and communication. It is being directed by the Institute of Architecture and Planning at the University of Liechtenstein in partnership with the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, the Institute for Art and Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the Faculty of Design Sciences of the University of Antwerp and the Umeå University School of Architecture in Sweden. In a series of prestigious events, new tendencies and preliminary findings of the research project of the same name are being discussed by acknowledged international experts. The speakers have included such names as Odile Decq (architect and Dean of the Confluence Institute for Innovation and Creative Strategies in Lyon), Martino Stierli, Philip Johnson (Curator in Chief of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York), Berlin-based curator and author Lukas Feireiss and Vicky Richardson, until recently Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion for the British Council and commissioner of the British Pavilion at this year’s Biennale.
Major interest
Peter Staub, Vera Kaps and Georgia Papathanasiou of the University of Liechtenstein are the editors of the ‘New Schools of Thought’ journal, which was published under the auspices of the occasion and has been discussed with great interest by visitors. It includes articles, interviews and projects which illuminate the context of architectural schools of thought and the constantly expanding field of architectural communication.
‘The interest of our guests and visitors to the Biennale was visibly massive – the Palazzo was packed down to the last seat,’ said Peter Staub, well satisfied with the successful curtain-raiser to the Biennale. ‘Both for the University of Liechtenstein and for our country this is an outstanding opportunity to showcase innovative talent, acquire an established footing on the global map and forge valuable contacts for the future.’
Detailed information may be found at www.uni.li/biennale and on the official website of the Architecture Biennale.
