Cyprus Pavilion Explores Social Sustainability at the 2023 Venice Biennale
The Cyprus Pavilion at the International Exhibition of Architecture – La Biennale di Venezia has announced the theme of its exhibition: the early Neolithic settlements of Khairokitia. The exhibition uses these communities as a starting point for discussing the challenges of social sustainability in a human and cultural context. The show is organized by Petros Lapithis, Lea Lapithi, Nikos Korousis and Ioanna Ioanno Xiari.
The exhibition seeks to create time spaces and introduce the principles of social participation and equality. It starts from the assumption that social sustainability can be achieved through cooperation and shared awareness, with a focus on developing and maintaining the quality of life of people within the community, which are the main concerns of social sustainability. The show strongly emphasizes safeguarding the mental and physical well-being of all, promoting social cohesion and educating those who can then contribute to society at large and build relationships within it.
Chiroketia was one of the most creative cultures of the prehistoric era. It contributed to the displacement of civilization from the Middle East towards the European continent. Since 7500 BC, the Neolithic settlements of Cyprus were already independent, self-sufficient, and a model of societal sustainability in politics, economics, and the environment. The journey of the continent’s first Neolithic travelers to the shores of Cyprus is testament to the group’s success in navigating the unknown.
The suite examines this success and explores how humanity can apply it to our future explorations as space travelers, scientists and navigators. Today’s architecture community will be responsible for discovering cutting-edge designs for the creation of Mars. Furthermore, the exhibition looks at how the primitive structure of the Neolithic period can be used as a model for future architectural design. The exhibition activates conversations about the use of information, technology and societal decisions in future architectures.
Curated by Leslie Loko, the theme for this year’s Venice Biennale is “Lab of the Future.” Many other countries have chosen to study their predecessors, and use them as a model for future decision-making. The Taiwan Pavilion showcases the imbued intelligence of the place, and explores how people throughout Taiwan’s history have used their intuition to shape their environment. The Roman Pavilion will examine past technological innovations as a source of inspiration for creating more pleasant and flexible urban environments. In turn, the Nordic countries, representing Finland, Norway and Sweden, will display an archive of books on architecture, design, traditional building knowledge and decolonization in the indigenous Sami culture.
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