Pavilion Of Turkey Presented Architecture As Measure At The 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale Di Venezia

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia closed to the public on Sunday, 21 November.
This year, the Pavilion of Turkey presented Architecture as Measure, curated by Neyran Turan. Located at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale, the Pavilion of Turkey is coordinated by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), and co-sponsored by Schüco Turkey and VitrA.
The exhibition
Taking curator Neyran Turan’s recently published book Architecture as Measure (New York and Barcelona: Actar Publishers, 2020) as a theoretical preamble, the exhibition positioned architecture as a measure that can help assess our place on Earth and our role in relation to those with whom we live together: as architects with the actors of other disciplines and domains of work, and as a species alongside more-than-human others. Presented through an installation, an online publication, and storytelling, Architecture as Measure focused on the politics and nuances of the seemingly mundane aspects and sites of architectural construction, juxtaposing them with their planetary counterparts through geographies of resource extraction, material supply chains, maintenance and care in Turkey and beyond.
The installation designed by NEMESTUDIO titled Four Dioramas comprised a quartet of rooms. Each diorama staged both a generic site of architecture with banal details and a specific mise-en-scène of an imaginary story taking place in Turkey. The dioramas in the pavilion showcased selected published pamphlets from the website publication, where they became part of the mise-en-scènes of the stories depicted.
The website
In addition to the installation, the exhibition extended onto a website as its main publication platform. Exploring topics of focus through four different formats—Paperwork, Episodes, Conversations, and Essays—the website presented content written by the Pavilion’s curatorial team and the invited contributors, published periodically over the course of the biennial. 62 articles have been published on the website, which started its publication in December 2020, six months earlier than the official opening date of the Biennale. New content will continue to be added to the website until the end of 2021.
Internationally renowned architects and thinkers participated in the Pavilion of Turkey’s online programme of events
With the participation of invited contributors, the Pavilion of Turkey hosted a live conversation programme called the “Going Live” Online Conversation Series, which took place periodically over the course of the biennial and broadcasted online.
The first episode of the “Going Live” Online Conversation Series featured the historian of literature and modern science, Frédérique Aït-Touati. The curator Neyran Turan, along with the other members of the curatorial team Melis Uğurlu and Ian Erickson discussed dioramas, theatre, climate change, and more-than-human actors at the live conversation with Frédérique Aït-Touati.
In the second episode, Neyran Turan, along with the other members of the curatorial team Ece Emanetoğlu and Samet Mor discussed environmental history, climate emergency, and forests with environmental historian affiliated with the History Department at the Middle East Technical University, Selçuk Dursun.
The third episode was dedicated to the discussion of the relationship between architecture and planetary imagination with Amelyn Ng and Ross Exo Adams as the guest speakers of the episode, which was moderated by Neyran Turan, and curatorial team members Melis Uğurlu and Ian Erickson.
The fourth episode was the book launch of Neyran Turan’s recently published book Architecture as Measure (New York and Barcelona: Actar Publishers, 2020), which acted as a theoretical preamble for the Pavilion of Turkey at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. The launch took place in the physical space of the Pavilion of Turkey at the Sale d’Armi, Arsenale and  included a panel discussion with Neyran Turan, Sofia Pia Belenky (Space Caviar), Clare Lyster and John McMorrough.
The first two episodes of the series are available to stream on İKSV YouTube channel and the Architecture as Measure website. The rest of the episodes will be available to stream until the end of 2021.
The team
Architecture as Measure was curated by Neyran Turan. Assistant curators were E. Ece Emanetoğlu, Melis Uğurlu, Samet Mor, and Betsy Clifton. Exhibition design was by NEMESTUDIO. The editorial assistant was Ian Erickson. Visual identity and graphic design were by Paleworks (Yağmur Ruzgar and Ozan Akkoyun).
Over 300.000 Visitors at La Biennale Di Venezia
 Curated by Hashim Sarkis, 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia took place during 22 May-21 November 2021 with the theme How will we live together? and hosted exhibitions from 60 countries including the Pavilion of Turkey.
According to the data published by La Biennale di Venezia, the exhibition has welcomed over 300 thousand visitors, exceeding the numbers of the 2018 edition pre-Covid. Young people under the age of 26 represented 32% of the total visitors.
Pavilion of Turkey at the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
The Pavilion of Turkey is coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), co-sponsored by Schüco Turkey and VitrA, and realised with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.
The Pavilion of Turkey has taken part in the International Architecture Exhibition since 2014, thanks to the acquisition of the permanent venue at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale on the initiation of the İKSV and with the support of 21 sponsors.