Five entries have been shortlisted in the competition to select a creative director for the New Zealand exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The shortlisted proposals were submitted by teams led by:

• Anthony Hoete, a New Zealander working as an architect in London;
• Giles Reid and Jason Whiteley, an architect and designer, also New Zealanders, based in London;
• Charles Walker, director of AUT University’s Colab research institute;
• Euan Mac Kellar, an Auckland architect, and Dr Anne Poulsen, a principal of Auckland research organisation Superstudio; and
• Alessandro Melis and Michael Davis of the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning.

The five finalists will present their developed proposals to the selection panel appointed by the New Zealand Institute of Architects on 1 May, and the creative director will be announced the following week.

“New Zealand’s exhibition at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale was a landmark event for this country’s architecture,” said Teena Hale Pennington, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.

“Our 2016 exhibition will build on this success to showcase New Zealand’s architecture, raise its profile and promote its critical culture.”

The New Zealand Institute of Architects is currently inviting financial support for the New Zealand Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016. The exhibition’s commissioner Tony Van Raat explains, “There are many reasons for New Zealand to be at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and the best of them is that we have something significant to offer. We have our own stories, our own culture, and our own architecture. It’s hugely important that we contribute to the global discussion about what architecture is and what it can be. And the ideal place to do this is the world’s leading architecture event — the Venice Architecture Biennale.”

Details on how to get involved can be found here.

Other links:

– Venice website
– Facebook page

The Venice Architecture Biennale is the world’s leading architecture event. It features more than 60 national exhibitions and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. New Zealand entered a national exhibition into the Biennale for the first time in 2014.