Swiss Pavilion at 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale Unveils Christian Kerez's 'Incidental Space'

Christian Kerez, the Venezuelan-born architect and ETH Zurich professor, has revealed first details of the Swiss Pavilion for the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. Titled 'Incidental Space' and curated by art historian Sandra Oehy, the project critically examines how architects' creative freedom is increasingly constrained by regulations. Kerez proposes a complex, polysemic space that challenges conventional building norms, offering an 'axiom project' rather than a repertoire of current practices. The pavilion itself becomes a site for interaction and research at the discipline's frontiers. Concurrently, the Salon Suisse program, titled 'Wake up! A path to a better architecture,' will be led by Geneva professor Leïla el-Wakil. The talks at Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi address social inequality through themes of cultural heritage, tradition, and reuse, featuring architects, engineers, researchers, artisans, filmmakers, and artists from Switzerland and abroad. The Swiss participation is organized by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss cultural foundation, which announced Kerez's appointment in November 2015. Biennale President Paolo Baratta emphasized spreading architecture as an urban phenomenon throughout Venice.