An Early Fascination With Caves Leads to a World Stage
Cave Bureau, from Kenya, is making its debut at Venice by exploring the cultural significance of humans’ earliest forms of shelter.
A rendering of “Obsidian Rain,” an exhibition evoking the Mbai Caves, by the Kenyan architects Cave Bureau for the Venice Architecture Biennale.Credit.Cave Bureau
By Ginanne Brownell
May 21, 2021, 10:05 a.m. ET
Kabage Karanja had one of his earliest and most profound experiences when, as a teenage member of Hodari Boys, a youth mentoring club, he camped in the Suswa Caves, northwest of Nairobi, Kenya.
It was a special memory for Mr. Karanja, now an architect, partly because “I remember waking up in the middle of the night,” he said, “and there was a Maasai warrior just standing there, watching us sleep.”
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London studio Unscene Architecture explores how pubs, high streets and green spaces in the UK can be made more inclusive in the British Pavilion at this year s Venice Architecture Biennale.
The exhibition, named The Garden of Privatised Delights, comprises a series of interactive rooms that investigate how specific public spaces can be better designed.
Unscene Architecture has curated the British Pavilion
It was curated by Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler of Unscene Architecture in response to a rapid increase in privately-owned public space in Britain.
The aim is to encourage discourse on how private and public sectors can work together to improve the use of, access to and ownership of all public spaces.
Bamboo Entwined With Moroccan Textiles
A structure at the Venice Biennale unites local craftsmanship, farming and architecture.
The Majlis, an Arabic word that means communal gathering place, is a temporary structure that is part of the Venice Architecture Biennale. The structure is made of bamboo and wrapped in handwoven Moroccan textile.Credit.Caravane Earth
By Farah Nayeri
May 20, 2021, 5:02 a.m. ET
The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore is one of the architectural jewels of Venice. Designed by the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio, it sits prettily on the edge of an island opposite St. Mark’s Square.
For the next six months, the gardens behind the church will host an edifice that could not be more of a contrast: a temporary structure made of bamboo and wrapped in handwoven Moroccan textile.