Site Under Construction

Anca Trestian: The theme of this year's Biennale is " absorbing modernity " and for each of the participating countries it refers to this phenomenon over the last 100 years.Our exhibition focuses on industrial architecture as a process forced by the state to gain economic independence, a process that urbanized a large part of Romanians, dramatically changing most of our cities. Thus, we have drawn attention to these sites, now urban voids, waiting for a second chance.

Mihai Sima: Our choice was primarily pragmatic. Looking back we came to the conclusion that industrial architecture and the whole process of industrialization are interesting subjects. The major theme of the Biennale is meant to be historical, but we didn't follow that path. The topic we chose helped us because it is flexible and can be developed in different directions. We chose to present this concept through video projections.

Raluca Sabău: The conceptual framework is a dichotomy: past and present in relation to our historical and political journey as a nation (country). The exhibition is a white box in a black box. In this space we have chosen to present industrial architecture using archival films. In the end, the projected film is a composition of sites, buildings, elements that reach post-revolutionary decay and their remains. We think the approach is very challenging. Many people have asked us why industrial architecture? We chose it not because it is relevant in relation to other European countries and their modernity, but because it is significant for our very different development. Industrial architecture is the only large-scale architecture built in Romania even if it reached surrealist exaggerations during communism. We have to think about the whole urban impact of those developments. It's interesting how, during a regime of censorship, architects were still able to develop a certain aesthetic by resorting to the industrial register.

Stejara Timis: Absorbing Modernity is also about how other countries have influenced Romanian architecture. Watching the film in the Romanian pavilion, visitors notice certain similarities between Romanian and European architecture of the same period and the fact that national architectures don't really exist anymore in the context of globalization.

Abandoned industrial sites offer the opportunity to create a "new modernity". I think that's what it's all about, the permanent creation of a new modernity and thus progress.

S.S.: Can you draw your own analogy between the Site Under Construction project and Tarkovsky's "Stalker"?

A.T.: After a journey in an abandoned and dark industrial building, amidst garbage heaps, in spaces empty of any form of habitation, three Trakovskian characters reach their destination by finding "the zone". It is said that this is where the deepest and most hidden desires come true.

For us, passing through the exhibition is, in fact, the story of Romania's forced industrialization and its consequences. It is the glorious beginnings juxtaposed against the desolate condition of the present. We ask visitors to reach into that "zone" to fill it with their own desires and ideas, as a liberation where the new becomes manifest.

R.S.: The movie has a background and certain similarities that prompted us to reference it.

We created a spatial experience of the exhibition around the idea of an initiatory path, similar to the movie. There's a quote in the movie that we used to fully describe the perceived feeling, being inside the clean room, post-industrial space: 'it's so quiet here, it's the quietest place on earth'. Stalker analogies are not new and along with the idea of wasteland, brownfield and wasteland have been used a lot in the past. In the 1990s, more as an experiment, an interdisciplinary group founded in Rome, called Stalker, made urban explorations of the city's wastelands. If you look at our cities, today we are surrounded by these kinds of urban areas, post-industrial spaces and other kinds of spaces. We should start exploring these possibilities.

S.S.: Your project is interactive. How does the Biennale's public respond to your de- walk?

A.T.: Since the UK, industrialization has spread rapidly throughout Europe. It's a phenomenon that has left behind empty relics, out of use, not just in Romania. That's why we have visitors who exchange views on similar situations and tell us how they've dealt with them. For this edition of the Biennale, the exhibitors have, as expected, adopted a more theoretical approach, which is why the number of different answers is so large.

S.T.: I think that the public really appreciates the fact that they find an interactive exhibition and that we have managed to create such a project within the overall theme. A too theoretical approach doesn't give you much freedom. Visitors are attracted by the sound, the music, the special atmosphere. The darkness and then the surprise of discovering the spaces in the white towers are very contrasting. It is surprising to see people's reaction to these stimuli, to notice that they have mixed feelings and reactions, which at the end of the journey perhaps, if only for a little while, change their mood or their ideas.

S.S.: The Biennale runs from June to November. Do you have other events planned for the coming months?

A.T.: One of the confirmed events will take place at the end of September and is the project Post-Industrial Stories, a collection of photographs documenting the neighborhoods of industrial centers in western and central Romania. The photographs are by Ioana Cîrlig and Marin Raica.

R.S.: We discussed organizing events with people connected with the major idea of this exhibition. For now, the discussion remained at the stage of a future project or possible idea, especially because of limited financial resources.

S.T.: Another event of the exhibition is the dissemination of the Petrila workshop on post-industrial urban regeneration, organized by Cristina Sucală, Ilinca Păun-Constantinescu and Dragoș Dascălu.

S.S.: You have worked hard on the realization of the Romanian pavilion. Now, after the opening, you naturally had time to see the Biennale. What other national pavilions would you recommend at BAV 2014?

M.S.: I would recommend Chile, because the pavilion fits best with the major theme of the Biennale. In addition, the whole exhibition design is impeccably executed and I like the way you enter an antechamber that introduces you to a certain type of space, which you don't immediately understand until you enter the main room, where the prefabricated element stands like an architectural monument. Once you walk through the whole pavilion, you find a lot of information and statistics, so they have done extensive research on their subject. I would also recommend the Romanian Pavilion. Don't miss it!

S.S.: My favorite exhibition is Albania. A small exhibition space with a strong message. Two very interesting Albanian artists were invited to present their work in relation to the theme. On a similar note is Denmark. Both pavilions have sensitive concepts that delighted me. I also recommend Chile, as it is architecturally strong and excellently documented, and of course Monditalia.

S.T.: The Canada Pavilion is the one I recommend. It presents the process of urbanization and development of the Nunavut community.

A.T.: This year, the information presented by most of the national pavilions is very condensed, so I recommend the Brazil pavilion for those who have more time to spend in the Giardini. It's a summarized traversal of architectural masterpieces, modern presented in chronological order. Even if they lack a bit of "space" in their presentation, they have some great architecture to showcase.

Anca Trestian: The theme of this year's Architecture Biennale is "absorbing modernity" and it refers to the past hundred years of each participating country. Our exhibition focuses on the industrial architecture, as it was a process forced by the state to gain economic independence, process that urbanized a great number of Romanians, changing dramatically most of our cities. Consequently, we need to raise the attention that these sites, nowadays modern urban voids, are waiting for a second chance.

Mihai Sima: First of all, our choice was to be pragmatic. Looking back at our past we concluded that industrial architecture and the whole process of industrialization are topics of interest. The main theme of the biennale is meant to be but we did not want to take that path. Even in this matter, the subject we chose helped us because is flexible and can go in different directions. We chose to present the concept using video projections.

Raluca Sabău: The conceptual framework is a dichotomy: the past and the recent present, related with our historical and political path as a nation. The exhibition is a white box within a black box. In this space we chose to showcase the industrial architecture using archive films. In the end the film is a composition of sites, buildings, elements arriving to the post-revolutionary decomposition and its remnants. We found this quite intriguing. Many people asked us why industrial architecture? We did not choose it because it was relevant in relation with other European countries and their modernity, but because it is relevant for our development which is very different. Industrial architecture it is the only big scale architecture built in Romania even though it reached a surreal exaggeration during communism. We have to think about the whole urban impact of those developments. It is interesting how architects living in a regime of censorship, were still able to develop a certain architectural aesthetic using the industrial.

Stejara Timis: Absorbing Modernity is also about how other countries influenced Romanian architecture. Seeing the movie, the visitors notice similarities between Romanian and European architecture from the same period and the fact that the national architecture does not really exist anymore in the context of globalization.

The deserted industrial sites give the opportunity for creating a "new modernity". I think that is what is all about, always creating a new modernity and therefore advance.

S.S.: Can you develop on your analogy between Site Under Construction project and Tarkovsky s movie Stalker?

A.T.: After undertaking a journey through the decayed, leaking and obscure industrial building, in the middle of littered fields, bare of any human inhabitation, the three Tarkovskian characters reach their destination, finding the "Zone". It is said that here, the deepest, most hidden wishes are fulfilled.

For us the passage through the exhibition is in fact the story of forced Romanian industrialization and its consequences. We are asking the visitors that reach the "Zone", to fill it with their wishes and ideas, as it is a clearing in which the new can become manifest.

R.S.: The movie has a certain background and certain similarities that made us relate to it and we created the spatial experience of the exhibition around the idea of an initiatory path, similar to the movie. There is a quote in the movie that we used to describe the whole feeling while being inside the white room, the post-industrial space: "It is so quiet out here, it is the quietest place in the world." The Stalker analogies are not new and were actually used a lot in the past, together with the idea of wasteland, brownfields or terrain vague. In the '90s there was an interdisciplinary group, founded in Rome, more like an experiment, called Stalker that made urban exploration of the undefined areas of the city. If we look at our cities, today we are surrounded by this kind of undefined urban areas, post-industrial spaces or other kind of spaces. We should start exploring the possibilities.

S.S.: Your project is interactive. How does the Biennale public respond to your approach?

A.T.: Starting in the UK, industrialization quickly spread through the entire Europe, it is a phenomenon that left behind not only in Romania, unused, empty relics. Therefore, we have visitors that exchange opinions of other similar situation and tell us how they were solved. For this year's edition of the Biennale the exhibitions adopted, as expected, a more theoretical approach, thus the number of responses is not so great.

S.T.: I think the public really appreciates the fact that we have an interactive exhibition and that we managed to create such a project given the general theme, a very theoretical one that does not give you too much liberty. The visitors are attracted by the noise, the music, the special atmosphere and the dark and then the surprise of discovering these spaces in the towers that are so contrasting. It is amazing to notice people's reactions to these stimuli, to see that they have these mixed feelings and reactions and, that, at the end of the journey, they change maybe, even a little bit their mood, their ideas.

S.S.: Have you prepared other events in the following months?

A.T.: One of the confirmed events at the end of September is the Post-Industrial Stories project. They will showcase a collection of photos that are documenting the neighbors of industrial centers in West and Centre of Romania. The photographs are taken by Ioana Cîrlig and Marin Raica.

R.S.: We have discussed about having certain events with people related to the main idea of this exhibition. At the moment, the discussions remain in the phase of future projects and possible ideas, mainly because of limited financial resources.

S.T.: Another event is an exhibition disseminating the Petrila workshops on the post-industrial urban regeneration, organized by Cristina Sucală, Ilinca Păun-Constantinescu, and Dragoș Dascălu.

S.S.: What other national pavilions would you recommend as a must visit at BAV 2014?

M.S.: I would recommend Chile because the pavilion fits very well within the main theme of the Biennale. Moreover, the whole design of the exhibition is well executed and I like how you enter in a anteroom that introduces you in a certain kind of space, which you could not quite get until you enter the main room where the prefabricated element is standing like a monument of architecture. After you walk around you can find a lot of information and statistics, thus, they did extensive research on their subject. I would recommend the Romanian pavilion as well. You should not miss it.

R.S.: My favorite exhibition is Albania. It's a small space exhibition with a very powerful message. They invited two interesting Albanian artists to present their work in relation with the theme, even though they are artists and not architects. In the same note is Denmark. They both have very sensitive concepts, which I enjoyed. I would recommend also Chile, because it is architecturally strong and well documented and, of course, Monditalia.

S.T.: I would recommend Canada's pavilion, which presents the process of urbanization and development of Nunavut.

A.T.: This year, the information presented by most of the pavilions is very condensed, so I recommend Brazilian pavilion for the ones that have a bit more time to spend in Giardini. It is a straightforward review of the modern architectural masterworks, presented in a chronological order. Even though they are missing a bit of "spice" in their presentation, they have a lot of valuable architecture to exhibit.