ISLAND at the Venice Biennale: new categories of conceptual architecture and architectural sculpture

ISLAND, Great Britain’s entry to the 16th International Architecture Biennale is underpinned by Alejandro de la Sota’s quote ‘architects should make as much nothing as possible’. Ostensibly, upon visiting the British pavilion it does indeed appear that this year’s representation of the best of British architecture is … nothing. The neoclassical building, which holds a dominant position within the Giardini, making it one of the first things visitors to the park see, has been left empty; seemingly abandoned following last year’s exhibition of Phyllida Barlow’s large-scale sculptural works for the Art Biennale. The vinyl text from Barlow’s show, titled ‘Folly’, is even still partly visible on the wall to the right of the entrance. There are also scuffs and scratches to the pavilion’s surfaces that t document the memory of Barlow’s sculptures, as well as dust piles gathering on the floor.