Architect Maria Cynthia Y. Funk, an alumna of the College of Architecture, together with Sam Domingo, was chosen to represent the Philippines in the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, one of the most prestigious architectural exhibitions in the world, with their pavilion concept titled, Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary.
The pavilion explores the relationships between urban water bodies, solid waste, and the informal community that live along these water bodies. This supports the theme of the 2023 Biennale, “The Laboratory of the Future” curated by Lesley Lokko, and asks the question, “What does it mean to be an ‘agent of change’?”
The Philippine Pavilion proposes that the possible solution lies in its temporal nature and is meant to be a continuous design evolution through constant dialogue between all stakeholders and the communities living along the urban estuaries, towards a replicable and more effective spatial solution that is contextually sensitive to the needs of the community and the environment. It also proposes an alternative architecture paradigm from the traditional view of architecture as permanent and rigid structures, towards architecture as a system of iterations, evolutions, and solutions.
The structure comprises modular bamboo framed “bridgeways” over projected videos of the virtual “estero”, leading visitors to a circular gathering where visitors can peer into snippets of the daily lives of the community and the urban waterways that envelop them.
Other architecture alumni and academic staff involved are Ar. Lyle La Madrid as exhibitor under The Architecture Collective (TAC), Ar. Harry Serrano and Ar. Cesar Concio III as contributing catalog writers.
The participation in the Venice Biennale is supported by the Philippine Arts in Venice Biennale (PAVB) as a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.
The 2023 Architecture Venice Biennale runs from May 20 to November 26, 2023. You may visit the official Biennale website at: www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2023/philippines
