Architecture News

The German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building has chosen Kawahara Krause Architects, alongside Andres Lepik and Olga Cobuscean, to curate the German Pavilion at the upcoming 20th International Architecture Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia in 2027. Titled "CONVIVERE — A Repertoire of Living Together," the exhibition aims to direct attention towards the interstitial spaces within residential settings, such as entryways, communal staircases, courtyards, and areas just outside doors. This curatorial approach arises from an analysis of contemporary societal challenges, including increasing social fragmentation, political polarization, and the urgent demand for accelerated construction. By focusing on these spaces, where daily interactions begin, the exhibition questions how architectural design can underpin democratic principles.

From the curators' perspective, these frequently disregarded domestic areas are crucial for nurturing trust, fostering neighborly relations, and facilitating everyday life. These transitional zones act as a bridge between the privacy of individual homes and the public sphere of the city, both uniting and demarcating private existence from the broader community. They cultivate spontaneous encounters, a sense of closeness, and collective belonging. These inherent qualities are encapsulated in the team's "CONVIVERE" concept, a design philosophy rooted in precise spatial choices. The exhibition will illustrate this concept through a collection of spatial arrangements designed to promote interaction, drawing examples from various periods of German housing. The team's primary goal is to emphasize those elements and transitions in architecture that actively encourage social engagement. Consequently, the chosen examples are not merely about the structures themselves but about demonstrating architecture's profound capacity to influence how communities inhabit space together.

The collaborative exhibition project involves students from four prominent German universities: RWTH Aachen University, RPTU Kaiserslautern, Technische Universität München, and Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart. These students will be instrumental in researching, exploring, and presenting the spatial scenarios for the exhibition. Further details regarding the exhibition's content are anticipated in early 2027. The current challenge for the architects, curators, researchers, and students is to identify and showcase compelling examples that concretely demonstrate how architecture can contribute to the formation of democratic societal spaces.

The German Pavilion's focus on "CONVIVERE" offers a hopeful vision for the future of urban living, demonstrating architecture's potential to counteract social isolation and build stronger communities. By highlighting how thoughtful design of shared spaces can promote interaction, understanding, and a sense of collective identity, the exhibition champions the idea that our built environment can actively shape a more democratic and inclusive society. It reminds us that architecture is not merely about structures, but about fostering human connection and creating environments where coexistence thrives.

Embracing Bioclimatic Living: The Greenhouse Evolution for Modern Homes

The Fundamental Concept: Climate Control within Domestic Spaces

A greenhouse functions as a specialized structure engineered to establish an distinct atmospheric condition separate from its external surroundings. This is achieved by meticulously regulating solar radiation, thermal dynamics, and air circulation through its encompassing facade. Historically, this controlled milieu was meticulously cultivated for botanical purposes. However, an emerging trend in residential design adapts this identical ethos to sculpt innovative living areas tailored for human habitation.

Beyond Simple Enclosure: Benefits of Greenhouse Integration in Homes

Incorporating greenhouse construction techniques into residential dwellings offers far more than just an additional enclosed space. This method facilitates the creation of sheltered zones that do not necessitate the extensive climate conditioning typical of conventional interior rooms. Such designs are adept at capturing and utilizing solar heat efficiently when beneficial, providing natural ventilation as temperatures ascend, and significantly prolonging the periods during which specific areas of the home remain comfortably inhabitable.