Odile Decq has led a protest today (25 May) at the Venice Architecture Biennale against discrimination faced by women in architecture, releasing a manifesto urging everyone involved in the industry to “make a vow to uphold fairness, transparency and collaboration.” Architects including Alison Brooks, Toshiko Mori, Jeanne Gang, Francine Houben, Louise Braverman and Manuelle Gautrand were among those in attendance as Decq led a flash mob of over 100 people

Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena has reflected on the impact of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, which he curated, in the run up to the 2018 edition the renowned international exhibition, which opens to the public on Saturday (26 May). Two years ago, Aravena’s Biennale, themed ‘Reporting from the Front’, considered major challenges facing the built environment – from natural disasters to financial constraints, pollution, crime, housing shortages and a scarcity

Alison Brooks, Alejandro Aravena, Wang Shu, Bjarke Ingels, Elizabeth Diller, Rafael Moneo, Peter Zumthor and David Chipperfield and are among the big names participating in the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, it has been announced. Curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, founders of Grafton Architects, have revealed more details about their plans for the 16th iteration of the event, which will be open to the public from Saturday 26 May to

The creation of vibrant and meaningful public spaces will be the focus of the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have revealed. Meeting the press last week in the Italian city, the duo announced that the 16th International Architecture Exhibition is to be themed ‘Freespace’ and will “celebrate architecture’s proven and enduring contribution to humanity.” Explaining the concept, they said in a statement: “We’re interested in

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, co-founders of Irish studio Grafton Architects, have been appointed as curators of the 16th Venice International Architecture Exhibition in 2018. The duo – who have just claimed the inaugural RIBA International Prize for the UTEC University campus in Lima, Peru – will expand on the social themes explored by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena at the 2016 Biennale, focusing on how architecture can be used as

Much of CLAD’s coverage this week was unsurprisingly centred around the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. The event is the biggest in the industry’s calendar, and CLAD was there to take a look at this year’s pavilions – exploring different challenges and solutions facing built environments around the world – and to meet some of the most influential architects working in leisure. Among the exhibits that caught our eye were Spain’s

The international jury of the 15th Venice architecture Biennale has awarded the Golden Lion award for Best National Participation to Spain, for its pavilion Unfinished. The Spanish exhibition was one of 65 national pavilions at this year’s Biennale. Each engaged with festival curator Alejandro Aravena’s chosen theme Reporting From the Front to show examples of problems facing the built environment in their countries and some suggested solutions to these challenges.

Alejandro Aravena has officially launched the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale by firing a broadside at decision makers and architects who put profit ahead of the public good when creating our built environments. “Banality and mediocrity in architecture are as damaging as not responding to basic needs,” said the Pritzker laureate at this morning’s (26 May) press conference for the festival, which he is curating. “Corporate architects [and developers] are the

Venetian glassmaking association Fondazione Berengo is to host a retrospective of the work of Zaha Hadid, following the architect's death in March at the age of 65. The exhibition will take place Venice’s neo-Gothic Palazzo Franchetti, close to the Grand Canal, during the city’s architecture Biennale from 28 May to 27 November. Hadid’s accomplishments, including recently-completed structures and projects currently under construction, will be represented in the 500sq m (5,400sq

Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha has been announced as the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prize at the 2016 Venice Biennale. Da Rocha – whose landmark leisure buildings in his homeland include the Serra Dourada football stadium in Goiania, and the Clube Atlético Paulistano gymnasium and Brazilian Sculpture Museum in Sao Paolo – was nominated for the award by the biennale's curator, Alejandro Aravena. In a

David Chipperfield Architects have been invited to participate in the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale with a contribution on their museum project in the ruined ancient city of Naqa in Sudan. The festival, curated by Alejandro Aravena, will be themed Reporting from the Front and will focus on the myriad of challenges facing architects around the world. Naqa contains the ruins of a former trading city that once belonged to the

The director of the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, Alejandro Aravena, has revealed that challenges facing the built environment will be the focus of this year’s festival. Aravena, who is the winner of this year's Pritzker Prize, has pledged to curate a show that demonstrates “there is not only a need, but also room for action” in improving the environments where people live, work, interact and relax. “There are several battles

After a soft opening in March, the Matteo Thun & Partners-designed JW Marriott, Venice held its grand opening this month, along with the debut of its on-site 1,715sq m (18,460sq ft) GOCO Spa. The 250-bedroom hotel is located on its own private island, Isola delle Rose. The historic buildings have been sensitively refurbished by Matteo Thun & Partners to incorporate sustainable, modern and elegant design, the company said. “The main

London-based architectural firm Adjaye Associates have designed a temporary pavilion to house a selection of works at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. The biennial event, which was first held in 1895, is a major contemporary art exhibition showcasing creativity from across the world including art, contemporary dance, architecture, cinema and theatre. The vast exhibition is made up of a central pavilion and the Venetian Arsenale (a complex of shipyards and

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts has soft-opened the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa on the private island Isola delle Rose, with the grand opening celebration planned for 24 June 2015. The hotel is situated 15 minutes by speedboat from Piazza San Marco. Architecture practice Matteo Thun & Partners has been in charge of converting historic buildings into a sustainability-focused 266-key luxury hotel, holiday villas, convention centre and a spa

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts have revealed further spa details for its first Italian hotel in Venice - and its first resort in Europe - opening in March 2015. Architecture practice Matteo Thun & Partners is in charge of converting historic buildings on the Isola delle Rose (Rose Island – also known as Sacca Sessola ) into a sustainability-focused 266-key luxury hotel, holiday villas, convention centre and a spa –