Fair Building

Polish Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia 2016 Venice / Italy / 2016

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The Polish Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2016 directly responds to this year’s theme –
Reporting from the Front – by addressing the ethical issues facing one of the most
underrepresented participants in architecture: the construction worker. Labour conditions, lack
of respect and site accidents plague the industry worldwide but these difficulties often get
overlooked in favour of deadlines, budgets and the public demand for new spaces. Curator
Dominika Janicka, in cooperation with Martyna Janicka and Michał Gdak, create a full-scale
construction site inside the Polish Pavilion and ask the question – why don’t buildings come
with fair trade marks?

The curators behind the exhibition Fair Building believe that construction sites represent the
frontline in architecture; it is the physical manifestation of any live project and despite
technological advancements is still led largely by manual labour. The contribution from these
workers is missing from architectural discourse and construction processes remain
unpredictable. In a consumer-driven culture we can be more concerned with the standards
involved in making chocolate bars than the buildings and spaces that frame contemporary
society. This exhibition will focus on the ethical issues surrounding the construction industry
and the views of those directly involved.

The pavilion within the Giardini is divided up into two parts. The main section is made up of
a module scaffolding installation that forms a direct physical connection to the building site.
Documentary videos are screened simultaneously, featuring stories about construction
workers, each focusing on a key angle to the industry's work conditions and construction
works characteristics. The other part of the exhibition, resembling an investor’s showroom
apartment, explores the industry in numbers with the use of info-graphics and an animated
promotional video.

Exhibition curator Dominika Janicka says: “By presenting the stories of persons directly
involved in the building process, we ask whether ‘fair trade’ is achievable in the field. If so,
what would it be? Is ‘fair building’ possible? We don’t focus on looking for culprits
responsible for the abuses occurring at the various stages of the construction process. Rather,
we create a space to reflect on how to make this process not only effective but also fair.”
Rather than presenting finished projects or proposals, the exhibition curators hope to kick
start a much-needed debate on a largely ignored sector of the industry, with the aim to engage
architects, engineers, developers and consumers alike.

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    The Polish Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2016 directly responds to this year’s theme –Reporting from the Front – by addressing the ethical issues facing one of the mostunderrepresented participants in architecture: the construction worker. Labour conditions, lackof respect and site accidents plague the industry worldwide but these difficulties often getoverlooked in favour of deadlines, budgets and the public demand for new spaces. CuratorDominika Janicka, in...

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