#OP CEL NGIA E aT) *O vu —Z#OPENGIARDINI THE FOURTH UNFOLDING PAVILIONThe fourth Unfolding Pavilion, a pop-up exhibition concept inspired by the space it occupies on each occasion, opened on May 19, 2023 in the setting of the 18 Venice Architecture Biennale's vernissage. Following its previous editions on Ignazio Gardella’s Casa alle Zattere, Gino Valle’s Giudecca Social Housing, and the lost replica of John Hejduk’s House for the Inhabitant Who Refused to Participa- te, HOPENGIARDINI was dedicated to the Giardini della Biennale: the Venetian site featuring the highest concentration of modern architecture, with buildings by Alvar Aalto, Josef Hoffmann, Gerrit Rietveld, Carlo Scarpa, James Stirling, Sverre Fehn and more. The pavilion, curated by Daniel Tudor Munteanu and Davide Tommaso Ferrando, only lasted for a short but intense period of time. The Giardini Pubblici, commissioned by Napoleon in 1807 to provide a green lung for the densely built City of Venezia, was a public park designed by lo- cal architect Giannantonio Selva in the style of Neoclassical landscape gardens. A large portion of the city fabric, including three Renaissance churches and a monas- tery, had to be demolished in order to build the public gardens. Permanent gallery spaces were built in the park beginning in 1895, with the opening of the first Interna- tional Art Exhibition. The vast majority of the area has since been fenced off and gi- ven to the Biennale, removing it from public use. In 1932, the perimeter of the gated enclave of the Giardini della Biennale was extended to include a plot of land on the neighboring island of Sant'Elena. Currently, only one-third of the Giardini’s total sur- face area is open to the public, with the rest being accessible only during the visi- ting hours of the Art and Architecture Biennales. The Giardini della Biennale, on the other hand, are not private pro- perty: they are located on public land that the City of Venezia freely grants to the Bi- ennale in exchange for upkeep and security. This is a clear case of private expropri- ation of public territory by an institution that has colonized Venezia for the last 100 years: something worth discussing at a Biennale dedicated to decolonization. In fact, when no exhibitions are taking place and the pavilions are closed, the entire Giardini could theoretically be open to the public for 6 months of the year. None- theless, access to the Biennale’s part of the park is restricted and controlled all year long by the system of gates, walls, fences, CCTV cameras, metal spikes, barbed wire, and armed guards that define the Giardini's urban front. Reacting to this situation, Unfolding Pavilion #OPENGIARDINI is an exhibition that investigates the paradoxical state of a public space that is not publi- cly accessible, through a series of site-specific interventions aimed at sparking dis- cussion about the Giardini della Biennale's current and future uses.GIARDINI PUBBLICI A QUICK HISTORYPrior to 1846, when a railway bridge linked the City of Venice to the mainland, the main way to reach the island city was by sea, via the Lido-Vignole sail channel. The Motta di Sant'Antonio, a small hill at the far end of the densely built Castello neighborhood, was the first view of the historical city as seen from the boats entering the Basin of San Marco. Presumably, after conquering the Republic of Venice in 1797, that’s what Napoleon Bonaparte also first saw on his official visit to the city: two windmills on top of the Motta, surrounded by vegetable gardens and the annexes of the Church of Sant’Antonio. That was not a very remarkable ap- proach to a Napoleonic capital. The Emperor had grand plans for Venice, which he hoped would become his main port on the Adriatic. In December 1807, he issued an imperial decree mandating extensive changes in order to modernize the me- dieval city. The decree called, among others, for the construction of public facilities such as illuminated plazas, a new city cemetery, large promenades with avenues and a public garden. Among these, the garden was given special priority: “The con- struction will begin immediately and be completed in 1809 at a cost of 400.000 lire, funds that we will specifically allocate for this purpose.” Whether by coincidence or not, the Giardini Pubblici were to be built precisely on “the island circumscribed by the stream of S. Giuseppe and the lagoon, including the so-called Motta di Sant’ Antonio”. With stunning views of the San Marco Basin and the lagoon islands, it was arguably the most legitimate and easily accessible location for the new facilty. All of these projects were designed by Giannantonio Selva, who went on to become the most influential architect in Napoleonic Venice. He proposed buil- ding a new avenue near the Arsenale by covering over the Rio di Castello, resulting in a 300-meter-long street that would be much wider than the narrow pathways ty- pical of old Venice. The Via Garibaldi, as it is now known, resembled a Parisian bou- levard, bringing Enlightenment values to the city's medieval scape. This was to be Venice's only authentic avenue, the largest and brightest, and the ideal entrance in- to the new Giardini Pubblici. In order to make way for the public gardens, an entire neighborhood had to be demolished. The old Monastery of San Domenico (1312-1609), the Semi- nario Ducale and Church of San Nicold (1476-1508), the Church of Le Cappuccine (1675), and the imposing Hospice and Church of Sant'Antonio di Castello (1346- 4545) were all leveled in this last major urban intervention in the heart of medieval Venice. Built according to the plans of Sebastiano da Lugano, the Church of Sant’ Antonio was the most unique of all, particularly because of its splendid facade in Istrian stone, on a design attributed to Jacopo Sansovino. Selva understood the significance of the churches being demolished. He suggested that the Doric arch of the Lando Chapel of Sant'Antonio, attributed to architect Michele Sanmicheli, and other significant pieces be incorporated into his Giardini. Only the Lando arch, rebuilt in Giardini in 1822, stands today as a single reminder of the buildings sa- ctificed to give ordinary Venetians access to “the joys of verdure.”1498 1810 Marco Sebastiano Giampiccoli, Veduta di Venezia.The public gardens’ entrance opened off the new avenue in an impo- sing plaza with monumental gates. The view of the lagoon was then framed by a formal route that angled towards the Rio di S. Giuseppe bridge. Selva saw the potential of the vista and integrated the waterscape as a surprising and picturesque element to complement his simple Italian garden design. The formal route then led to the Motta di Sant’Antonio, where the former windmills have been replaced by a small public coffee-house. Selva designed this part in the then-rare English style, a- dorning the hill with a romantic, sensual garden of dense vegetation and sinuous pathways. The top of the hill, where ordinary citizens could now enjoy the breath- taking panorama of the Sant'Elena and Lido islands, was forever changed, as was the view from the boats entering the Basin of San Marco from the Adriatic. The main part of Giardini's design was organized along two perpendicular axes: one from the city to the hill, and another from the basin front to a proposed coach house with stables. This facility, designed by architect Giovanni Battista Meduna in the 1830s, enabled recreational riding in the island city for the first time in history. Selva's bridge over the S. Giuseppe canal, with its gentle ramp designed for horse-drawn carriages, remains Venice's single stepless bridge. Pietro Antonio Zorzi, an expe- rienced botanist, landscaped the gardens, and the imposing trees that line the park's main walks still stand today. The Giardini's green spaces were later rede- signed in 1867 and 1880. By the end of the century, all but the main routes had been replaced by a more fluid landscaping with meandering pathways that comple- mented Selva's Neoclassical sobriety. When Venice hosted the National Art Exhibition in 1887, the basin- facing section of the Giardini was assigned for the construction of a massive tem- porary exhibition structure designed by Enrico Trevisanato and decorated by Rai- mondo D'Aronco. They also demolished Selva’s coffee-house and replaced it with a grand cafeteria. The large art fair was a success in terms of public attendance, but the costs associated with constructing and removing the temporary exhibition halls rendered it unprofitable. A large art fair, on the other hand, was the ideal tourist attraction for a cosmopolitan city looking to establish itself as the de facto leisure destination for the elite. The municipality sought for a more sustainable economic model, anticipating that a permanent exhibition structure linked to an international biennial art exhibition would be a winning formula. Due to their vast expanse of greenery and unique panorama, the Giardini Pubblici were kept as the ideal location for this endeavor. The first International Art Exhibition of the City of Venice, later known as La Biennale di Venezia, was inaugurated in 1895 on the grounds of Giardini's former coach house in a purpose-built exhibition palace designed by Enrico Trevisa- nato. With seventeen halls arranged around one large central hall, the Palazzo Pro Arte hosted hundreds of artists from 14 countries. The Sales Office kept 10% of all artwork sales. By the end of the first edition, the Biennale had attracted over 200.000 paying visitors, and more than half of the artworks had been sold, establi-Pinta dee Gardens publ | Plan ts Tisha polls 1807 Plan of the Giardini Pubblici (Giannantonio Selva). M. Q, TESTOLINI giANTy ran Spodaita Aristiche Veneziano: VETREAIE MOSAICL MOBIL orzunsn 2m, ARTISTICA ammo toate vanes ama SMa Sl eb Pratl Yeti ean fr 1887 Plan of the Venice National Art Exhibition (Enrico Trevisanato, Raimondo D'Aronco)..shing itself as the world's largest art market at the time. The exhibition made a profit and demonstrated that its economic formula worked. The success triggered the exhibition space to grow with each subsequent edition, eventually leading to the palazzo's later composition of nearly 50 halls. In 1907, the Belgian Pavilion was inaugurated as a new independent building. Paid by the Kingdom of Belgium, it was intended to convey to the world King Leopold II's ambition and colonial powers. To separate the area accessible to ticket holders from the rest of the public space in the gardens, a fenced perimeter with entry gates and a ticket office were built. The Belgian example was quickly followed by Hungary and Bavaria, who also built dedicated pavilions, resulting in Giardini's rapid enclavisation. The United Kingdom purchased the grand public ca- feteria on Motta di Sant'Antonio, converting it into the current British pavilion. The concession of the grounds for the construction of dedicated national pavilions was one of Biennale's most innovative revenue sources. Once a pavilion was built, it be- came the property and duty of the foreign country concerned, along with all upkeep costs. However, this meant that the public grounds of Giardini would be privatized. The current Giardini della Biennale includes 28 national pavilions, as well as a City of Venice pavilion and several private company pavilions. The gated enclave of Giardini della Biennale expanded continuously until the 1950s and now occupies roughly two-thirds of the public gardens. As a result, the name Giardini Pubblici no longer applies to the park in its current form. It is now rather known as Giardini di Castello or Giardini Napoleonici, which are less politically charged names. Despite its undeniable prestige and well-deserved recognition as the world's most important art and architecture exhibition, the Biennale's expansionist practices are incom- patible with the progressive values it claims to support. In 2001, the Council of Venice approved a detailed urban plan for the Giardini della Biennale. The plan states: “The original function of the Giardini chan- ged over time as the cultural activities of the Biennale put down roots, removing much of the area from public access and generating certain contradictions with the actual use of the space. (...) The area of the Biennale is completely encircled by en- closures of various kinds, made of different materials: high brick walls alternate with buildings that stand around the perimeter, whereas a long iron fence delimits the Fondamenta.” The urban plan commanded “greater accessibility, in terms of durati- on and overall use of spaces open to the public,” regulating the creation of “new publicly accessible waterfronts along the Rio del Giardini” and “the removal of exist- ing walls and fences in favor of temporary structures used only for the duration of public events.” The Biennale did nothing to demonstrate compliance with this directive, and the City did nothing to enforce it. On the contrary, the Biennale recen- tly doubled its fences towards the Fondamenta, removing the weak points known by the locals as "secret entrances" to the now privatised park.b 'b Palazzo Pro Arte 1895 1897 ye 1903 1907‘> 1910 1928 ltalia Pavilion Central Pavilion 1936 2023GIARDINI DELLA BIENNALE 130 YEARS OF EXPANSIONISM.06, 05, on. 1895 Biennale Buildings. Gated enclave: Giardini della Biennale. o7. Public Space: Giardini Pubblici. 03, 04,19091930 24, 26.on. 02. 03, 04, 05. 06. o7. 08, 09. 10. n 12, 13, 14, 15. 16. 7. 18. 19. 20. 2 - #OPENGIARDINI ‘dini Pubblici (G. Selva, 1807-1810) Lando Chapel Arch of Sant'Antonio di Castello (M. Sanmicheli, 1513; 1822) Caffé-Ristorante (R. D'Aronco, 1887) Caffe Orfeo (1889) Serra (E. Trevisanato, 1894) Palazzo Pro Arte (Italy Pavilion) (E. Trevisanato, G. Ciili, D.Torres, C. Scarpa, 1895-1977) Belgium Pavilion (L. Sneyers, 1907) Ticket Kiosks (R. Mainella, 1907) Caffé-Ristorante (R. Mainella, 1909) UK Pavilion (E.A. Rickards, 1909) |. Germany Pavilion (D. Donghi, 1909; E. Haiger, 1938) Hungary Pavilion (G. Maréti, 1909) France Pavilion (F. Finzi, 1912) ‘Sweden (The Netherlands) Pavilion (GF Boberg,1912) Russia Pavilion (A.V. Shchusev, 1914) Spain Pavilion (FJ. de Luque, 1924) Caffe Paradiso (1926; C.Zucchi, 2018) Czechoslovakia Pavilion (O. Novotny, 1926) Ticket Kiosks (B. Del Giudice, 1926) USA Pavilion (C.H. Aldrich, W.A. Delano, 1930) |. Venice Pavilion, Switzerland (Egypt) Pavilion, Poland Pavilion (B. Del Giudice, 1932) 22. 23. 24, 26. 27. 29) 30. 31 32, 33, 34, 36, 37. 39) 4 42, 43, - Uruguay Pa\ 38. . Denmark Pavilion (C. Brummer, 1932; P. Koch, 1960) Greece Pavilion (B. Del Giudice, M. Papandréou, 1934) |. Austria Pavilion (J. Hoffmann, 1934) 25. Yugoslavia (Serbia) Pavilion, Romania Pavilion (@. Del Giudice, 1938) Fire Station (Anffas House) (1938) Biennale Annex (1939) 28. Book Pavilion (C. Scarpa, 1950) ). Ticket Kiosk (C. Scarpa, 1952) ). Israel Pavilion (Z. Rechter, 1952) - Switzerland Pavilion (B. . The Netherlands Pavilion (G.T. Rietveld, 1954) . Finland Pavilion (A. Aalto, 1956) . Japan Pavilion (T. Yoshizaka, 1956) >. Venezuela Pavilion (C. Scarpa, 1956) 36. iacometti, 1952) Canada Pavilion (BBPR, 1958) lion (1960) Nordic Pavilion (S. Fehn, 1962) ). Brazil Pavilion (Mindin Palanti Amaral, 1964) 40. La Partigiana (C. Scarpa, A. Murer, 1968) - Australia Pavilion (P. Cox, 1988; Denton Corker Marshall, 2015) . Electa Book Pavilion (J. Stirling, 1991) . Korea Pavilion (8.C. Kim, F. Mancuso, 1995)GATES OF GIARDINI A PHOTO SERIES BY LAURIAN GHINITOIU#OPENGIARDINI AN EXHIBITION BY UNFOLDING PAVILIONS &The Unfolding Pavilion's most visible intervention was a large banner hung to the Lando Arch of Sant'Antonio di Castello. This was not by chance: the arch is the last surviving remnant of the former churches that were demolished to make way for the public gardens. The banner, designed by Michele Galluzzo, was strategically placed in the public part of the Giardini, directly in front of the Biennale's entry gate, on the opposite side of the visual axis that ends with the British Pavilion. The banner featured an angry emoji face demanding that the Giardini be returned to the people. A sticker campaign with the same graphic was also launched throughout the city. The pavilion's opening took place behind the Lando Arch. There, Laurian Ghinitoiu's photographic project was exhibited: the result of several walks around the perimeter of the Giardini made to document the various devices by which the permeability and impermeability of the Biennale is negotiated in space. The images were printed on transparent plexiglass, so that viewing them required looking through them, symbolically dissolving the pictured borders. The recent proliferation of the Biennale's hostile border devices hasmade it extremely difficult for people to "jump the fence" and sneak into the Giardini without tickets or invitations: a form of resistance practiced by the locals since the first editions of the Biennale. However, the boats docked on the banks of the canal that runs through the Giardini, well within the Biennale's boundaries, indicate that the Biennale's border is not completely impenetrable. These boats are owned by Venetians who have been randomly assigned docking spots by the City of Venezia and thus require free access to their vehicles, crossing the Biennale's border without permission from the Biennale. This network of conflicting interests has generated two territorial exceptions where the Giardini fence is interrupted by the canal: two weak points in the fortified perimeter of the Biennale where boat owners have developed their own system of access to the gated enclave. These unofficial entries are neither comfortable nor safe, requiring leaping over high barriers, descending ladders suspended over water, and avoiding medieval-grade people deterrents such as spiked fences and walls with broken glass embedded in the mortar. It's not the most dignified way to go to work every day. Because the Biennale appears to have no intention of finding alternative solutions to the boat owners’ surreal situation, we thought we could at least try to make their entry routines easier and more dignified. At the same time, we wanted to make a clear statement in the hope of sparking a discussion between the City, the Biennale, and the National Pavilions, all of whom are responsible for the current stall situation. At the canal's southern end, behind the Greek pavilion, an arch with the sign #OPENGIARDINI topped the riverbank access. Alessandro Mason, Davide Tommaso Ferrando, and Lucas Geiger designed this portal to resemble a ceremonial doorway. Beyond the portal, three ladders installed to mediate the height differences led to a long red carpet that accompanied the walk to a rusty spiked fence. Red tape was applied to cover the rust, puffy clown noses were glued to the spikes, and a soft grip was installed where the boatmen hung to swing around the barrier. The red carpet extended all the way across the fence to the first docking stations. At the opposite end of the canal, a steel ladder inserted in the thickness of the Giardini's brick wall on the back of the Austrian pavilion (whose theme and exhibition we greatly appreciate) was improved with more reliable grips. Built up during the exhibition preview, the majority of the installations were removed by Biennale staff in the following days, once entry to the Giardini became ticketed. Of course, we expected the Biennale's reaction: their removal of our unauthorized interventions, however, had the sole effect of making the boatmen's daily lives just as difficult as before.#OPENGIARDINI ONE BANNER AND TWO HUNDRED STICKERS: BY MICHELE GALLUZZONO USCITA / NO EXIT#OPENGIARDINI TWENTY-FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS, BY LAURIAN GHINITOIU#OPENGIARDINI TWO INSTALLATIONS BY ALESSANDRO MASON, DAVIDE TOMMASO FERRANDO, LUCAS GEIGER( siuhbdeuadia ee seca ae eee#OPENGIARDINI REMOVAL BY BIENNALE STAFFCURATORS, Daniel Tudor Munteanu, Davide Tommaso Ferrando WORKS 1. Photography Series: Laurian Ghinitoiu. 2. Banner: Michele Galluzzo. 3. Installations: Alessandro Mason, Davide Tommaso Ferrando, Lucas Geiger. TEAM Ana Victoria Munteanu, Elisabeta Rabiniuc Mocanu, Marco Ballarin, Matteo Vianello, Noemi Biasetton LANDO CHAPEL ARCH OF SANT'ANTONIO DI CASTELLO Giardini Pubblici, Viale Trento, Castello, Venezia MAY 19, 2023 18" Venice Architecture Biennale 'WWW.UNFOLDINGPAVILION.COM1822 ‘A. Lazzari, Lando Arch of Sant'Antonio di Castello (1513) rebuilt in the Giardini Pubblici. COVER IMAGE Michele Galluzzo CC BY-NC-SA 4.0#OPENGIARDINI WWW.UNFOLDINGPAVILION.COM