Biennale Architettura 2018 Closes with Record 275,000 Visitors

The 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled 'Freespace' and curated by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, closed on November 25, 2018, with a record 275,000 visitors, up from 260,000 in 2016. Including pre-opening attendance, total visits reached over 289,400. Visitors under 26 accounted for 50% of the total, and 27% visited in groups. The Golden Lion was awarded to Switzerland. Notable features included the Vatican Chapels, the 'Arcipelago Italia' pavilion focusing on Italy's inner areas, the exhibition of a ruin from London's Robin Hood Garden estate, and a flash mob by RebelArchitette for gender equality. The curators emphasized architecture as 'exhilarating, modest, heroic' and serving human needs. Biennale President Paola Baratta highlighted the creation of free public space as a right and duty. Mario Cucinella, curator of the Italian Pavilion, stressed the need for architecture to respond to social, economic, and environmental evolution. Federica Galloni, Director General for Contemporary Art and Architecture, noted that 'Arcipelago Italia' established a method for collective value generation.