The human face of architecture at the Venice Biennale

The most important international meeting of world architecture was given this year for the keyword "freespace" (free space), under the leadership of Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara.

This notion consists in improving collective spaces, by arguing that architecture must reflect "the generosity of the spirit" and "the sense of humanity".

"The creativity of the architect must be at the service of the community", summarizes for AFP Mrs. McNamara who started her career, like Mrs. Farrell, in education, paying particular attention to the social function of the 'architecture.

In the 3.000 m2 of Arsenal and Gardens, where 100 architect studios from 65 countries rub shoulders, the exhibition spaces are generous and divided into specialized sections.

The architects invite the visitor to discover remarkable projects, to reflect on famous historic buildings and to understand the importance of education.

Many achievements are minimalist but breathtaking, such as "The Dream" by architects Ramon Vilalta, Carmen Pigem and Rafael Aranda from RCR studio, which won last year the Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel Prize in architecture, a kind of den with moving lights created through the use of 6.000 magnifiers.

Another such achievement is the bench surrounding the Can Lis house in Mallorca, signed by one of the masters of modern architecture, the Danish Jørn Utzon, who died at the age of 90 in 2008. His utility project represents a manifesto aesthetics and simplicity.

Another example: the renovation of the French city of Ivry-sur-Seine by Renée Gailhoustet, French architect and urban planner, political activist in the sixties, who worked for forty years to express his social commitment through his vision of housing collective.

A first for the Vatican

In this edition, which will run until November 25, seven countries - Antigua and Barbuda, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan and the Holy See - have for the first time a special pavilion on the Venetian island of Saint George.

The spectacular initiative of the Vatican provides for the construction of ten chapels by ten important architects, including the British Norman Foster and the Portuguese Eduardo Souto de Moura, also awarded the Pritzker Prize.

The Biennale will award the Golden Lion for his career to the famous English architect and historian Kenneth Frampton, 88, author of numerous essays on modern and contemporary architecture, who has influenced and inspired several generations of students and peers.

"Each Biennale focuses on a specific aspect, in this case the common space, free and free," explains the president of the event, Paolo Baratta.

The French pavilion examines with "Infinite Places" ten sites, or better, ten "democratic spaces" without mental barriers and at the same time infinite because in constant evolution.