MIT at the 2023 Venice Biennale

"The Laboratory of Change" is the theme for the 18th International Architecture Exhibition. The Venice Architecture Biennale, the world's largest and most visited exhibition focusing on architecture, is once again featuring work by many MIT faculty, students, and alumni. On view through Nov. 26, the 2023 biennale, curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Lesley Lokko, is showcasing projects responding to the theme of "The Laboratory of Change." Architecture and Planning and curator of the previous Venice Biennale. "Our students, faculty, and alumni have responded to the speculative theme with innovative projects at a range of scales and in varied media." Below are descriptions of MIT-related projects and activities. MIT faculty participants Xavi Laida Aguirre, assistant professor of architecture Project description: SPACES, a nonprofit alternative art organization based in Cleveland, Ohio, and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are behind the U.S. Pavilion's exhibition at this year's biennale. The theme, Everlasting Plastics , provides a platform for artists and designers to engage audiences in reframing the overabundance of plastic detritus in our waterways, landfills, and streets as a rich resource. Aguirre's installation covers two rooms and holds a series of partial scenographies examining indoor proofing materials such as coatings, rubbers, gaskets, bent aluminum, silicone, foam, cement board, and beveled edges. Yolande Daniels, associate professor of architecture