In the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the talk will focus on the role of ‘heritage‘ within the concept of FREESPACE. President of La Biennale di Venezia Paolo Baratta, Ricky Burdett and Shelley McNamara will talk with Fasil Giorghis, Elizabeth Hatz, Abha Narain Lambah, Andra Matin, Salvatore Settis, Cino Zucchi.

The talk – says President of La Biennale di Venezia Paolo Baratta – aims to address heritage as an essential, noteworthy element of urban space and the various modes in which it contributes or can contribute to creating Freespace, open space and space for free.

Various countries and urban realities have followed differing guidelines and, in their own ways, have taken advantage of the opportunities heritage offers when planning and setting the development of inhabited spaces.

Across diverse realities, the term heritage can indicate similar but different things. The word ‘heritage’, just like the expression ‘Free Space’ can be translated and interpreted differently in the various languages and cultures.

Therefore the regulatory apparatus and the same terms used in laws, rules and in ‘public opinion’ can also differ.
Heritage can be a fragment, a space, a living urban space, a natural space, a ruin, an industrial suburb etc. Each of these realities can be considered a reference point in the identification and appreciation of inhabited and lived-in spaces.

The European Union has declared 2018 as the Year of Heritage. The International Architecture Exhibition therefore offers an ideal opportunity to analyse projects that are already addressing the question of heritage as defining factor in urban and architectural choices.

To find out more head to https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2018/meetings-architecture

The Meetings on Architecture are organised with the support of Rolex.