{"460601":{"#nid":"460601","#data":{"type":"news","title":"GT Joins World\u2019s Elite Architects at Venice Biennale","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYou can think of the architects who present their work at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.labiennale.org\/en\/architecture\/index.html\u0022\u003EVenice Biennale\u003C\/a\u003E sort of like Olympic athletes: They are the very best at what they do, their work achieves new, global benchmarks and moves their field forward.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENext year, the work of Georgia Tech School of Architecture alumni Merrill Elam (ARCH 1971) and Mack Scogin (ARCH 1966) will be featured there. The 15\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale will take place May 28 through November 27, 2016, in Venice, Italy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is arguably the most important exhibition in the architecture world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe International Architecture Exhibition is part of the Venice Biennale, a premiere international arts organization that is at the forefront of academic practice and promotion of new contemporary art.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Venice Biennale hosts an exhibition of groundbreaking art every two years, a tradition started in 1895, where artists showcase their work in pavilions organized by country. Over the last century the exhibition grew to encompass international excellence in visual arts, contemporary dance, cinema, theater, and architecture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than 250 architecture firms vied to represent the U.S. for the 2016 exhibition: 12 were picked. Elam and Scogin\u2019s firm is one of them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBeing selected to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Venice Biennale is a great honor for Merrill, Mack and their firm Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects,\u201d said Scott Marble, the William H. Harrison Chair of the School of Architecture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is one of the most important international forums, showcasing the most thoughtful and culturally significant design from the top architects in the United States.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.thearchitecturalimagination.org\/\u0022\u003EU.S. Pavillion at the 2016 Venice Biennale\u003C\/a\u003E will feature architectural designs that address the social, cultural, environmenta, and political issues of Detroit, Michigan. Four Detroit sites will be the focus of the 12 participating firms (three firms per site).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETitled, \u201cThe Architectural Imagination,\u201d the U.S. Pavillion\u2019s showcase is designed to feature American design excellence, innovation and how speculative thinking can address architectural challenges in our own country. The pavilion is curated by Monica Ponce de Leon (who was the Georgia Tech School of Architecture \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.arch.gatech.edu\/people\/ventulett\u0022\u003EThomas W. Ventulett III Distinguished Chair\u003C\/a\u003E from 2004 \u2013 2005) and Cynthia Davidson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta-based Elam and Scogin are no strangers to the U.S. Pavilion subject. They\u2019ve lectured in Detroit and even have been asked to judge a downtown revival project. Although their Venice Biennale commission will address specific problems in this quintessential American city.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 2016 International Architecture Exhibition\u2019s overarching theme is \u201cabout focusing and learning from architectures that, through intelligence, intuition, or both of them at the same time, are able to escape the status quo,\u201d said director Alejandro Aravena in his curatorial statement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMore and more people in the planet are in search for a decent place to live and the conditions to achieve it are becoming tougher and tougher by the hour,\u201d Aravena said. The projects exhibited next year will show how architects who overcome lack of resources and inertia from decision-makers can improve lives \u2013 a nod to the growing movement of socially conscious architecture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBack at Georgia Tech, Elam is a visiting professor. She\u2019s teaching a Master-level studio this fall titled, \u201cOn Audacity and Imagination.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA fitting preface to \u201cThe Architectural Imagination,\u201d Elam\u2019s studio explores the possibilities of architectural design through the medium of video. Her students focus on the ideas of space conjured by moving pictures and represent those ideas through video and physical construct.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo learn more about Elam\u2019s work visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/msmearch.com\/\u0022\u003EMack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects\u003C\/a\u003E or stop by the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.arch.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Architecture\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"School of Architecture alums Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam will represent the U.S. in the International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Architecture alumni Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam will represent the U.S. in the International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Architecture alumni Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam will represent the U.S. in the International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale."}],"uid":"27803","created_gmt":"2015-10-19 16:05:07","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:47","author":"Ann Hoevel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-10-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-10-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"460591":{"id":"460591","type":"image","title":"arch biennale 2016","body":null,"created":"1449256361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:41","changed":"1475895206","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:26","alt":"arch biennale 2016","file":{"fid":"203595","name":"biennale.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biennale.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biennale.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":140955,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/biennale.jpg?itok=-f4IKmgD"}}},"media_ids":["460591"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"42921","name":"Exhibitions"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnn Hoevel\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003EGT College of Architecture\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ann.hoevel@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}