Exploring Design as Metamorphosis: Venice Architecture Biennale

Exploring Design as Metamorphosis Venice Architecture Biennale
It is fortunate that many people seem naturally drawn to architectural models because, without them, the ninth Venice Architecture Biennale would be reduced to photographs, drawings, videos and words. But even stunning handmade computer-designed models point to a problem with architectural exhibitions. They cannot show what architecture is really about - buildings and the contexts in which they are placed.

Still, after two days reserved for professionals and reporters, the doors of this year's biennale opened last week to crowds of enthusiasts curious to share some of the buzz created over the past decade by a score or more of big name international architects, including Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaas and Jean Nouvel. The notion that architecture is art is probably more widely accepted today than in recent memory.

For Kurt Forster, a Swiss-born academic who is director of the architecture biennale, the sprawling show's main purpose is to reach a broader public. He is hoping for as many as 120,000 visitors before it closes on Nov. 7. And many leading professionals were also on hand including Libeskind, Zaha Hadid, Christian de Portzamparc and Peter Eisenman, who was awarded a Golden Lion for his lifetime achievements.

To turn a vast array of design into a manageable exhibition, Forster had two large spac