Repair - Creative Direction

BACKGROUND: Mauro Baracco and Louise Wright were selected by the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) as creative directors of the Australian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Biennale. Their proposal ‘Repair’ responded to the Biennale theme of ‘Freespace’ by focusing on architecture that integrates built and natural systems to effect repair of the environment. The curators, in collaboration with artist Linda Tegg, made an experimental video series, entitled ‘Ground’: a showcase of 15 Australian projects that unpack diverse iterations of repair, which was projected inside the Pavilion. The projects were chosen from 126 submissions from around the country and included examples of adaptive reuse of old buildings, remediation of industrial landscape and the presence of Indigenous culture in Australia’s cities. CONTRIBUTION: Baracco and Wright’s curatorial strategy focused on architecture that integrates built and natural systems to repair the environment and improve societal, economic and cultural conditions. It demonstrates their broader approach to architectural thinking, exploring architecture’s role in repairing the places it is part of, expanding the point of view from the object of architecture to the way it operates in its context. Over the past 10 years they have developed this approach throughout the Wimmera region in Western Victoria through projects such as “Regenerated Towns: Regenerated Nature”. Their research practice develops landscape based approaches that effect and catalyse environmental repair through decisions of siting, ground plane, hydrology and other ecological conditions. SIGNIFICANCE: The Venice Architecture Biennale is arguably the most important global gathering of the built environment, attracting more than 220,000 visitors from around the world during its six month duration. ‘Repair’ was announced as the winning proposal by the AIA in 2017. It has received extensive national and international critical and media coverage.