Taking advantage of this contest we will present the new bedside "renovation today", which will be centered as his sister in Spain in the world of the rehabilitation and reform. This header will be distributed in the principal countries of Europe: Germany, France ( Switzerland, Belgium ), United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, to all the professionals related to the world of the ceramic distribution, bathroom, reform and rehabilitation.

There are events that are repeated time and which persist over time. The booklet of BigMat is one of those classic summer essential during the summer months.

The evolution of the shower is changing day by day and I Five Mediterraneo´s big headshowers are made for a more enjoying time during the shower.

We are glad to present the London Headshower 500×400 mm which has light integrated,  two crossed cascades and the rain effect shower for relaxing moments.

It is also incorporated a polished steel preframe for an easier and faster installation.

I Five Mediterraneo is a specialized company in bath products as an example the great variety of shower panels, shower systems and faucets and big headshowers in order to give solution to any necessity. Having at its disposal specialized staff, I Five Mediterraneo launches every year handy products with designs brought up to date.

The big bet of I Five Mediterraneo is the creation of  providers in different countries in order to expand more our products. Nowadays we are working with France, Italy, Portugal, Romania and for the future we are wiling to open more markets.

We are waiting 2013 with the ilusion of getting to our aims and to be very well placed in the nacional and foreign market.

The range SANICOMPACT, leading European manufacturer of crushers and pumps to evacuate health Sanitrit SFA, is made up toilets inside a pumping station and ground high performance, so you meet all requirements when installing a secondary toilet, with or without sink, in houses, apartments, campsites and shops. Like other products SANITRIT allows the creation of a new bathroom in any space, although the drain is not under the ground, which would not be feasible in conventional plumbing. Moreover, its wide range of sizes and designs SANICOMPACT make it ideal both as works of rehabilitation of new plant.

The reason is that SANICOMPACT is used as a toilet classic and requires no special maintenance. By clicking the download button, an electronic programmer begins a cycle of 25 seconds of rinsing – grinding – evacuation – clarified through a solenoid valve that opens and takes water directly from the network, like a washing machine without a cistern outside. For toilets with washbasin input, the electronic controller automatically starts pumping function only. Therefore, you only need a water supply and a power to install a toilet SANICOMPACT up to three meters below the level of general household downpipe. It is also capable of evacuating water to 30 feet away using a standard 32 mm pipe.

The integration of the crushing and pumping devices in the interior of the ceramic of the toilet SANICOMPACT makes an ideal solution for small spaces, while simplifying installation and improving the final aesthetics of the whole. The range includes ceramics SANICOMPACT matter (Comfort and Star models) and soil (models C43, C4 and Elite), which do not require any previous work.

With suspended ceramic SANICOMPACT Star Comfort and delivering a frame for situating the toilet at different heights to fit well to the needs of disabled people. SANICOMPACT Comfort is equipped with a new water-saving system with two download options only 1.8 to 3 liters and with a damped lid that prevents lowering noise. The Star model has a second input for gray water from a basin or sink. Its dual flush water saving is 3.8 and 5 liters.

Among the models of soil, the toilet SANICOMPACT C43 is the smallest of the range, with only 43 cm. deep. It comes with an integrated grinder-pump unit inside to evacuate wastewater own toilet and a sink or sink. Like the other models in the range SANICOMPACT floor, the C43 features a dual flush of 3.8 and 5 liters without external tank while pumping gray water is automatic thanks to its electronic programmer. Finally, the Elite and C4 SANICOMPACT offer a design with soft lines true to the minimalist concept that fits most current decor. The Elite model is the widest and most comfortable ceramics available on the range, while the C4 has a smaller width, which will place them anywhere in the house to provide more comfort for the day.

From 18 to 22 of September the leading firms of all styles of furniture for habitat gather at Feria Habitat Valencia.

Techlam® by Levantina has chosen Cersaie, The International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings to present the new collections. Cersaie is annually held in the Italian city of Bologna and is recognized as the most important exhibition in the Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishing Industry.

This event showcases an overview of the new developments and market trends. 

Levantina is a leading company in the extraction, processing and sales of natural stone. In 2005, Levantina entered the latest generation of the porcelain market with the launch of Techlam®.

The industrial plant is equipped with the most advanced technology for the production of slim porcelain solutions for floors, walls and other constructions. In recent years, Techlam® has established itself as the best solution for interior and exterior walls, flooring and other building elements. Techlam®´s versatility in size, color, combination with other materials and technical characteristics of durability, hygiene and flexibility make it a highly versatile product that can be used in multiple applications. As a consequence of the continuous design and innovation process, Techlam® will present two new collections at Cersaie.

Two new collections

Cosmos Collection:

Stylish and innovative, this collection contains metal inlays that not only bring brightness but also glamour and elegance to interior design. Cosmos is suitable for wall covering and is available in three different colours: Cosmos Neu, Cosmos Black and Cosmos Black Capuccino

Venato Collection:

The reflection of nature has been the inspiration to create Venatto. This collection reproduces the natural stone beauty and creates sophisticated and luxurious environments.The use of this collection is extended to wall covering, flooring and countertops. Venato´s reference is Venatto Bianco. Techlam® 5mm collection will be also showcased at Cersarie Exhibition.

TECHLAM ® 5 mm.

This new Techlam®’s thickness material is characterized by its high resistance in just one piece, which makes it especially suitable to use in high traffic areas flooring. Techlam® 5 mm is the solution for new construction or rehabilitation sites where time and cost effectiveness are essential. The ability to be installed directly over the old floor or wall as well as its large format are important properties that facilitate quick and easy placement.

The successful implementation of large scale project developments such us KOKI and VAC1 Shopping Centers, both in Budapest, where more than 10,000 M2 of Techlam® were used to build the different mall areas, has helped Techlam® to establish itself as a preferred choice for architects and builders.

The company introduces the 49.1×98.2 cm. size in a variety of textures, colors and finishes, among them the new series Sandstone, Indus, Filita, Cuarcita and the Soft

Ceracasa ceramic surfaces with its mimetic capacity, create models that faithfully mimic wood. Timber range is produced in colored porcelain, is a series presented in five colors (fresno, haya, roble, sauvage, and nogal) and in two very convenient sizes (24.5×98.2 and 16×98.2).

The Timber wood range from Ceracasa as a porcelain body tile is highly resistant to water, traffic of people, cleaning and disinfection products and frost resistanf not its no water absobtion, which together with its resistance to the passage of time and the sunlight make it the best choice in a home or business. The recommended retail price is 48/m2 for Rect. 24.5×98.2 cms and 52/ m2 for Rect.16×98.2 cm size.

The new series

Ceracasa has presented one of the most developed ceramic surfaces range and designs applied to the new trends that will be most commonly used in architecture and interior design in the coming years. The company introduces the 49.1×98.2 cm. size in a variety of textures, colors and finishes, among them the new series Sandstone, Indus, Filita, Cuarcita and the Soft (a silky finish, which simplifies maintenance and reduces water consumption in cleaning).

Gres de Aragón chooses Cersaie 2012 to presents the new collections: ‘Cotto’, ‘Iroco’, ‘Extreme’ & ‘Mistral’.

‘Cotto’ collection is introduced as an extruded natural tile in three colors: red, white and brown in 25×25 cm. with all the resistance and anti slip characteristics typical of the extruded natural tiles. It is composed of a special piece kit (strings, corner, step, skirting, handrail, etc.) that will solve the architectural problems such as corners, steps, etc. Red color is also available in 33×33 cm. size, with its own skirting and step

‘Iroco’ It is a extruded porcelain tile, both for indoors, and outdoors (Class 3) that imitates the wood effect. It can be used for all kind of application such as outdoors, swimming pool surroundings, indoors, etc. The main characteristic of this collection is the availability of a one-piece step sized 60 cm. with straight front. The collection is presented in four colors: wengué, nogal, roble and gris and it is sized 20×60 cm. ‘Extreme’: this one, is another extruded porcelain tile collection with four modern colors: cobalto (dark blue), bronce, rodeno and white and two sizes for color.

‘Extreme’ comes out with two one-piece steps sized 30 and 60 cm. skirting, strings, and corner for solving stairs and other elements. Its soft texture, and the reflections of its surface, makes it perfect for all kind of settings, especially for those who want modernity and resistance all in one. New collection, ‘Mistral’, is a glazed extruded tile, with five different colours, that evoke nature with its tones, and shadows. It comes in size 33×33 cm. and 25×25 cm. Different special pieces are presented with this collection, such as skirtings, steps, corners, etc. to complete the construction of a setting.

The company will present this and many other news in this edition of the Cersaie.

The  13th International Architecture Exhibition  entitled  Common Ground, directed by David Chipperfield and organized by la Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta, will open to the public from Wednesday August 29^th until Sunday November 25^th 2012, at the Giardini della Biennale and at the Arsenale. The Preview will take place on August 27^th and 28^th , the  awards and inauguration ceremony will be held on Wednesday August 29^th , 2012 at Giardini.

The 13^th  Exhibition has arisen and developed from the path of research that la Biennale di Venezia carries out in the field of architecture, which in turn has made la Biennale a major event over the years. After a series of editions put in the hands of critics and historians and after the last edition directed by Kazuyo Sejima, the first woman to direct la Biennale of Architecture, this year it has been given to the hands of an architect, the English David Chipperfield, “a person – said President Paolo Baratta – who entertains a very intense vision of architecture as practice”.

The Exhibition designed by Chipperfield is spread over 10.000 square meters in a path from the Central Pavilion at the Giardini to the Arsenale. It comprises  69 projects made by architects, photographers, artists, critics and scholars. Many have responded to the invitation of the Director with original proposals and installations expressly created for this Biennale,  involving other colleagues with whom they share a Common Ground in their projects. There will be a total of 119 participants.

“With this  year’s theme, Common Ground, we go back to talking about architecture  – explains Paolo Baratta – to help architects emerge from the crisis of identity they are going through, and at the same time  offering the public a chance to look inside architecture, make it familiar and discover that something can be asked of it, that something different is possible, that we are not condemned to passive acceptance.” Civil society is made up of individuals and institutions. These do not always seem capable of identifying the requirements for organizing the space we live in. In order to mend this fracture, la Biennale can make its contribution primarily by posing these as its themes. While not denying that there is a problem in the relationship between architecture and ecology, architecture and technology, and architecture and town planning, the crux is to mend the fracture between architecture and civil society.”

David Chipperfield clarifies that he chose this theme “to encourage my colleagues to react against the prevalent professional and cultural tendencies of our time that place such emphasis on individual and isolated actions. I encouraged them instead to demonstrate the importance of influence and of the continuity of cultural endeavour, to illustrate common and shared ideas that form the basis of an architectural culture“.

“Italy remains the spiritual home of architecture  – adds  Chipperfield. Here we can fully understand the importance of buildings not as individual spectacles but as the manifestations of collective values and as the settings for daily life. This tangible sense of context and history remind us that our built world is a testament to the continuous evolution of architectural language and critical to our understanding of the world around us. With this in mind, I was inspired to direct this Biennale towards concerns of continuity,  context and  memory, towards shared influences and expectations, and to address the  apparent lack of understanding that exists between the profession and society.”

For President Baratta “Chipperfield’s exhibition is made up of resonances, where the irrevocable relationship between architecture, space, and town planning will re-emerge from the notes of the resonance”. The President invites one to look at “the interest of the architects taking part in the city, with particular attention paid to the recovery of existing buildings and the upgrading of urban spaces; or one looks to those participants who have drawn inspiration from the close link with past masters, remote or recent, or instigated associations with other grand contemporary colleagues.”  Baratta suggests to try the  “built architecture, from full scale reconstructions of existing buildings to the emerge from intricate balances of structural forces; from the materialization of the concept of architectural and cultural heritage as a basis « for the search for and construction of new realities», through to the structures arising out of the association of Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura.”

“This conception of the exhibition  is an important innovation in the history of architecture exhibitions – concludes  Baratta –  because inevitably provokes a modification not only in the relationship between architect and curator, but also a change in the approach of the architects called upon to work out their participation. The exhibition thus becomes a space in which they realize an idea and a system of relations between architecture of both past and present, whereby that which is exhibited is reciprocally valued.”

The 13^th  Exhibition will be complemented by 55 National Participations organized, as usual, in the Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the city of Venice. Four nations will be participating for the first time: Angola, the Republic of Kosovo, Kuwait and Peru. Argentina will exhibit for the first time in its own pavilion in the space newly renovated of the Sale d’Armi at the Arsenale.

The Italian Pavilion at the Arsenale will be organized by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Activities together with PaBAAC  – the General Direction for the Landscape, Fine Arts, Architecture and Contemporary Art, is curated by  Luca Zevi.  The 13^th International Architecture Exhibition also includes  18 Collateral Events presented by national and international subjects and institutions that hold their exhibitions and initiatives in various locations around the city.

For the third consecutive year the two peak appointments organized by la Biennale di Venezia, Biennale Sessions and Meetinngs on Architecture, reinforces the character of la Biennale as a place of research.

– Biennale Sessions is a program for Universities and following the success of the earlier editions, the Biennale will present once again the program,  known as the Biennale Sessions, dedicated to Universities. Addressed to Universities, Fine Arts Academies, research and educational institutions in the field of architecture, visual arts and kindred areas. The goal of this initiative is to encourage visits to the exhibition by groups of at least 50 students and teachers who will  be assisted in the organization of their journey and stay. They will be able to organize seminars in a space made available to them free of charge by la Biennale.  Nowadays,  61  international institutions (23 Italian and 38 foreign) have already signed up for Biennale Sessions. 

– Meetings on Architecture is a program of performance, conversations and talks dedicated to architecture which will see confront architects, sociologists, curators, artists and philosophers during October and November.

“The evolution of the exhibition is in step with that of the public – underlines Baratta – which not only increases numerically but seems more and more qualitatively demanding. This is also thanks to two initiatives of la Biennale, devised to make the 13^th  International Architecture Exhibition a reference point for new generations, who must be given room for verification and comparison that is not only habitual communication but a place enriched with new stimuli”.

Also scheduled for the year 2012 is a program of Educational activities addressed to individuals and groups of students from schools of every grade and level, of universities and  architecture schools, professionals, companies, experts, amateurs and families. The activities, led by staff members selected and trained by la Biennale di Venezia, encourage the active involvement of participants, and are divided into Guided Tours and Workshops.

The awards and inauguration ceremony of the 13^th International Architecture Exhibition will be held on Wednesday August 29^th at the Giardini, with the conferral of the official awards assigned by the international Jury composed by Wiel Arets (Netherlands),  Kristin Feireiss  (Germany), Robert A.M. Stern (USA), Benedetta Tagliabue (Italy), Alan Yentob (Great Britain).

Two online competitions are launched on the social website www.labiennalechannel.org:

Common Ground/  Photography: for the best photo of the Exhibition (this competition is open exclusively to accredited photographers); Common Ground/ Essay: for the best critical essay on the Exhibition.

The official catalogue – published by Marsilio Editori – consists of a single volume of 348 pages devoted to the International Exhibition, National Participations and Collateral Events. The volume will be available for the first time also in the  e-book version for an interactive and ipertextual reading of the catalogue, with inedited images. There will also be provided a short guide, a useful tool for the Exhibition tour featuring maps and practical information, and Common Ground In  Photographs featuring photos taken during the Exhibition by the photographer Juergen Teller,  commissioned by David Chipperfield (available from the second weekend of September). 

The Common Ground Critical reader is a hardbound book which contains 31 critical illustrated  essays commissioned by David Chipperfield from authors who reflect on the theme  Common  Ground. The entire editorial production uses the graphic project design by John Morgan  Studio  (English language only).

iBiennale is the official application of la Biennale di Venezia available for iPad and iPhone. It is produced in partnership with LOG607 and Marsilio Editori, and features a new design becaming  a useful tool to explore and get the best of the Exhibition.

Ultrafragola Channels chronicles the preview days and the major events during the 13^th Exhibition through several programmes, devoted to the Exhibition and comprising reports and  videointerviews that can be watched online at www.labiennale.org.

The spanish company, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary, enlarges its the most exclusive collection, created by the prestigious fashion designer Francis Montesinos, with ‘Novopeldaño® Arte’.

For 2012, Emac® enlarges its most exclusive collection, created by the prestigious fashion designer Francis Montesinos, with ‘Novopeldaño® Arte’. It´s an spectacular profile with wide face side, decorated with the exclusive whims of the Spanish fashion designer Francis Montesinos. It can be installed as a stair nosing, in countertops or worktops, etc. This collection is presented at www.perfilesdemoda.com.

Other new products

Other new products for 2012 are ‘Novopeldaño® Lúmina’: Stair nosing profile with photoluminescent strip that fulfills with the more demanding standards related to emergency lighting. It also has a non-slip surface and is intended to be installed after tiling. Ideal for public areas with heavy pedestrian (foot) traffic.

Available in 2 different sizes. ‘Novoperi’: Aluminum profile with wide face side which embellishes stair nosings, balconies, countertops, etc. Available in 6 different finishes, for 10mm and 12mm tiles. ‘Novopeldaño® Safety’: Non-slip stair nosing profile. Its wide striated surface and its non-slip strip fulfill with the most demanding safety standards, increasing the value of slip resistance of any flooring. It is installed after tiling. Ideal for public areas with heavy pedestrian (foot) traffic. ‘Novojunta® Maxi’: Profile for expansion joints made of our exclusive material Maxi, with vegetable fibers and a central flexible body made of EPDM. Decorates and absorbs the movements of expansion and contractions in floorings, thereby preventing cracks and damage.

Emac® celebrates 25 years

In 2012 Emac® celebrates 25 years manufacturing the highest quality profiles for wall and floors of ceramic tiles. Since its creation in 1987, the company has distinguished itself for its excellent services and its wide range of solution to protect and decorate ceramics, focusing on innovation

to grow. Emac® was the first company of profiles to obtain the certification ISO 9001:2008, and has branch in Miami (USA) opened in 2003 and in Sassuolo (Italy) opened in October 2011. Emac® recently expanded the central building in Quart the Poblet (Valencia), and with the 6,000 square meters existing can store a huge amount of products to offer immediate service within 24 hours.

During these 25 year, Emac® has maintained a firm compromise with the Social Corporate Responsibility, and works closely with various ONG’s such as the Vincente Ferrer Foundation in India or the Red Cross. Furthermore, last year the company has received an important award Alares “the Reconciliation of family life, work and personal” on employees. Since the beginning thanks

to its values and to ‘ongoing commitment, remains unquestionable leader in the industry.

"Affetto responds to basic needs: creating sanitary fixtures in essential forms that concede nothing to superfluous decoration, together with a series of furniture units that well adapt to various spaces and volumes. I drew inspiration from the Modernist movement of the 50’s: nothing is excessive and each and every element finds its rational collocation." Luca Nichetto

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY AFFETTO!

AT BOLOGNA, THE VERSATILE AND ADAPTABLE COLLECTION FOR HOME BATHROOMS DESIGNED BY LUCA NICHETTO HAS JUST TURNED ONE.

Almost a year has passed since the debut of

AFFETTO and Globo makes news again by adding more elements to the collection designed by Luca Nichetto, a compact block of sanitary fittings and furnishing elements inspired by office environments, one of the sectors requiring most flexibility in terms of in-space modularity.

"Complexity, the plus value of this project for Globo", states Nichetto, "lies precisely in this fusion which draws its inspiration from certain principles of the Giò Ponti style Modernist movement typical of the 50’s, when the need to address an exponential increase in housing and to create mass-produced furniture caused decorative elements and squared shapes to be discarded once and for all in favour of more sober and clean-cut lines".

By "disassembling" the main components and internal works and thinking in terms of material functionality and simplicity, this Venetian designer who has left his heart in Stockholm, has attempted to create something that is linear and sleek by applying the concept of skin.

In the research phase of the project, he used a body stocking to hold all of the internal elements and, by carefully studying the side fastening systems, Nichetto worked on the sinuous shape of the object, designing a sleek fluid form devoid of superfluous frills, which makes a synthesis of sanitary fixtures and restores their basic functionality.

Affetto is a product family of over 30 elements, each one characterized by a strong personality of its own but indissolubly bound, at the same time, to the GLOBO brand identity.

The MDF furnishing elements, reminiscent of "office" accessories, are available in wall-hung or floor-standing versions, and may be teamed up with counter top, recessed or 90 cm wall-mounted washbasins. An intentionally "playful" approach has been adopted for the accessories in this collection, to break away from its somewhat linear and austere look, offering the possibility to create a more colourful and fun environment if desired.

Accessories are free-standing objects that may be integrated in the bathroom system.

The sanitary fixtures

of Affetto are characterized by one uninterrupted surface from the top to the bottom, while slimmer washbasin contours are a natural invitation to an "affectionate" embrace. Pedestal is slender and streamlined, while the unbroken line formed by the design of the wall-hung pan conceals the toilet bend.

Basins

are available in the monolith version with incorporated top, for wall-hung, sit-on or recessed installation, in addition to a small hand-wash basin.

Affetto accessories

are objects of design that express functionality as well

as good looks: a perfect mix of values whose existence is entirely justified

by the important statements they have to make.

Floor

Nowadays, design is based on many factors. It seeks not only the functionality of the object, but also feelings that user produces. Besides a good design, it should also take into account: human experience, environment, economic and political factors, human behavior, mental and physical interaction with the object, and the designer time concept of both, present and future. On the other hand, production process is also affected by different aspects such as quality, service, productivity, distribution, maintenance, human resources and corporate social responsibility. You need to get an even balance between design and design production process of the most important spaces of our homes, including kitchen, which has become the main part of our family life, a place to create, feel, share and live .

In Lebana we have achieved such balance. We design and decorate with our customers what they imagine, to realize, with our advice and dedication, building their own furniture.

Linked to TAU group, a group leader in the ceramics industry, with them we have spent years incorporating research, development and innovation of our products as culture itself in a field of purely constructive tradition Made in Spain. Thanks to this culture, from the Department of Innovation, Design and New Product Development there are constantly seeking the latest materials, ergonomic solutions and accessories that provide maximum functionality for the product to be offered as a whole the optimal solution.

We prioritize quality and corporate social responsibility, thereby respecting customer’s expectations and environmental care. Proof of this is the quality management system supervised by Bureau Veritas and Lebana commitment to the environment. In its fight against climate change and protecting natural environment, Lebana collaborates with “Fundación Más árboles” (www.masarboles.es) in their forest reforestation projects with the creation of new generating “Lebana Forest woodland”, oxygen and fertile soil, to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

 We strongly believe in design as a fundamental part of our daily lives. The design, useful and aesthetic harmony with the decor, they add to our wellbeing. We got our work is a positive experience for our customers, who over our 20 years of work have become accomplices and our best marketing team.

Our values:

We are professionals. Perseverance, dedication, talent, creativity, learning from mistakes, and listening are our top towards the path of excellence.

Learn each day. We encourage challenges, adaptation and inclusion and, above all, knowing smile are hallmarks of relationships.

Be honest. We are proud that Lebana is the best ally in building kitchen, special, for each of our clients. We know that they recognize and value commitment we have conceived and defended in each of our projects.

We offer added value, we defend constructive spirit in our work. Positive attitude, optimism, creativity, imagination. This increases the value chain, in addition to the best care and the best work of those who take part of Lebana’s team.

The 13th International Architecture Exhibition titled Common Ground, directed by David Chipperfield and organized by la Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta, is open to the public from Wednesday August 29th until Sunday November 25th 2012, at the Giardini della Biennale and at the Arsenale. The Preview took place on August 27th and 28th, the awards and inauguration ceremony was held on Wednesday August 29th, 2012 at Giardini.

The 13th Exhibition has arisen and developed from the path of research that la Biennale di Venezia carries out in the field of architecture, which in turn has made la Biennale a major event over the years.

The Exhibition designed by Chipperfield is spread over 10.000 square meters in a path from the Central Pavilion at the Giardini to the Arsenale. It comprises 69 projects made by a r c h i tects, photographers, artists, critics and scholars. Many have responded to the invitation of the Director with original proposals and installations expressly created for this Biennale, involving other colleagues with whom they share a Common Ground in their projects. There are a total of 119 participants.

"With this year’s theme, Common Ground, we go back to talking about architecture– explains Paolo Baratta -to help architects emerge from the crisis of identity they are going through, and at the same time offering the public a chance to look inside architecture, make it familiar and discover that something can be asked of it, that something different is possible, that we are not condemned to passive acceptance." Civil society is made up of individuals and institutions. These do not always seem capable of identifying the requirements for organizing the space we live in. In order to mend this fracture, la Biennale can make its contribution primarily by posing these as its themes. While not denying that there is a problem in the relationship between architecture and ecology, architecture and technology, and architecture and town planning, the crux is to mend the fracture between architecture and civil society."

 David Chip­perfield clarifies that he chose this theme “to encourage my colleagues to react against the pre­valent professional and cultural ten­dencies of our time that place such emphasis on individual and isolated actions. I encouraged them instead to demonstrate the importance of influence and of the continuity of cultural endeavour, to illustrate com­mon and shared ideas that form the basis of an architectural culture“.

“Italy remains the spiritual home of architecture – adds Chip­perfield. Here we can fully unders­tand the importance of buildings not as individual spectacles but as the manifestations of collective values and as the settings for daily life. This tangible sense of context and history remind us that our built world is a testament to the continuous evolu­tion of architectural language and critical to our understanding of the world around us.

For President Baratta “Chipperfield’s exhibition is made up of resonances, where the irrevo­cable relationship between architec­ture, space, and town planning will re-emerge from the notes of the resonance”. The President invites one to look at “the interest of the architects taking part in the city, with particular attention paid to the recovery of existing buildings and the upgrading of urban spaces; or one looks to those participants who have drawn inspiration from the clo­se link with past masters, remote or recent, or instigated associations with other grand contemporary colleagues.”Baratta suggests to try the “built architecture, from full sca­le reconstructions of existing buil­dings to the emerge from intricate balances of structural forces; from the materialization of the concept of architectural and cultural heritage as a basis « for the search for and cons­truction of new realities», through to the structures arising out of the association of Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura.”

“This conception of the exhibi­tion is an important innovation in the history of architecture exhibitions – concludes Baratta – because inevita­bly provokes a modification not only in the relationship between architect and curator, but also a change in the approach of the architects called upon to work out their participation. The exhibition thus becomes a space in which they realize an idea and a system of relations between archi­tecture of both past and present, whereby that which is exhi­bited is reciprocally va­lued.”