Architect and Curator of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition Hashim Sarkis has argued for a “new spatial contract” founded on a more sustainable relationship with each other and our natural world. Responding to this idea, Therme Art and The British Council co-hosted the hybrid panel discussion Experiments for New Spatial Contracts on 21 May to mark with the opening of the Biennale.

Presented as part of Therme Art’s ongoing Wellbeing Culture Forum, the discussion focused on the idea of cohabitation prompted by the biennale’s guiding question – How will we live together? – along with the British Pavilion co-curators’ response in The Garden of Privatised Delights, curated by Unscene Architecture, the experimental architectural practice comprising Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler.

Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, this year’s pavilion examines contemporary public space and its security in the face of increasing privatisation. Public and private interests are intricately linked; both motivations need the other to function. However, in our societies today, we often see misalignments in the execution of this melding of worlds. The needs of the public are often overlooked in favor of increased profit, and private stakeholders are typically not informed enough on the demands of the communities they affect. Thus, the intervention at the British Pavilion takes up this complex relationship as inspiration for developing solutions that re-imagine the function of public and private architecture for the betterment of urban life.

Despite the familiar qualities of daily life, reality as we know it would not exist without ventures into the unknown. Experimentation plays a vital role in advancements in urban planning and shifts in public perception. Understanding that this experimentation does not only exist between humans, but also between animals, bacteria, plants, fungi alike is essential in re-outlining the terms of such a collaboration to benefit all life forms. As the British Pavilion’s curatorial framework begs us to reconsider the stakes between public and private interests, so too should we pay closer attention to the negotiations taking place on all levels of life.

Gathering experts from architecture, art, science and urban planning, the panel will discuss the role of experimentation and creativity in place making, highlighting the multidisciplinary collaboration needed to establish a more just and sustainable spatial contract. Inspired by its pivotal role over the last year, the conversation will also consider technology’s role in creating connection and expanding access within a more equitable understanding of cohabitation.

“How do we find those moments of irreverence and joy? Because it’s easy to comment on the things that have happened and to say that we know that there are issues around access, but where do we go from here?” — Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion, British Council

“I think the main thing we’re trying to ask in the pavilion is really how these spaces can be opened up for everybody, by involving everybody.” — Manijeh Verghese

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