Canada Pavilion, interior view of newly restored pavilion, May 18, 2018
Giardini di Castello, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, (photo by Andrea Pertoldeo)
The meticulously restored and refurbished Canada Pavilion in Venice, which has hosted exhibitions by leading Canadian artists and architects for six decades, was unveiled May 24 at the 2018 Biennale Architettura.
“This was an unusual and important architectural statement at the time,” said Marc Mayer, the director of the National Gallery of Canada, which oversees the facility. “We are deeply appreciative of the collaborative work between Canadian and Italian agencies that have permitted its rejuvenation and fresh understanding today."
The restoration began in 2014, prompted by the building’s precarious state of disrepair and functional limitations.
The pavilion, originally designed by Enrico Peressutti, of the renowned Milanese architectural studio BBPR (Banfi, Belgiojoso, Peressutti, Rogers), was restored by architect Alberico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, heir to the BBPR studio, working with Venice-based architect Troels Bruun, of M+B Studio.
Canada Pavilion in 1957 or 1958 in the Giardini di Castello, Venice. (Photo: NGC)
Tucked between the pavilions of Great Britain and Germany, the building embraces its wooded site and integrates two large trees within its perimeter walls. Shaped like a nautilus shell, it spirals out from a tapered octagonal column that supports the roof. This form, together with undisguised materials – brick, glass, wood and steel – established the pavilion’s architectural character. Reaction when it was unveiled in 1958 was overwhelmingly positive and it was later designated as a heritage site.
Funds for the renovation were provided by Reesa Greenberg, a patron of the National Gallery and founding secretary of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada.
A special exhibition, Canada Builds/Rebuilds a Pavilion in Venice, is on view in the pavilion during the biennial. It was organized by Réjean Legault, a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, with the support of architectural and design historian Cammie McAtee.
The exhibition includes a series of short documentary films produced by the National Film Board of Canada, as well as photo-documentation of the restoration by Andrea Pertoldeo, a professor at the Università IUAV di Venezia. A scholarly publication edited by Legault is due in 2019.
Canada’s official representation at the 2018 biennial, Unceded: Voices of the Land, is on view in the Arsenale di Venezia from May 26 to Nov. 25. An immersive installation that features the work of 18 Indigenous architects and designers from Canada and the United States, it was organized by renowned architect Douglas Cardinal, with co-curators Gerald McMaster and David Fortin.
For information, go to www.unceded.ca/.
Source: National Gallery of Canada