Netherlands Pavilion at 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale to Focus on Automation

Marina Otero Verzier, head of research at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, has been appointed creative mediator for the Dutch pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled Freespace, opening May 26. The pavilion, titled Work, Body, Leisure, will examine intersections of these three concepts, focusing on automation's implications for the built environment and resulting social paradigms, including shifts in work ethics and conditions. Content will combine contributions from an open call—similar to Mario Cucinella's Italy Pavilion—with findings from Automated Landscapes, a long-term research project launched by Het Nieuwe Instituut in 2017. The project draws inspiration from Constant Nieuwenhuys's New Babylon, a utopian city for homo ludens freed from labor by automation. Taking cues from Rotterdam's highly automated port infrastructure, the pavilion aims to be a meeting place to explore Freespace, challenging distinctions between work and leisure and human-machine interaction. Researchers and professionals are invited to submit proposals via a call issued September 21 by Het Nieuwe Instituut and Creative Industries Fund NL, with selected contributions forming a research network. The goal is to activate a long-term global debate on alternative ways of life intersecting work, body, and leisure.