Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, announced the selection of Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice in 2016. The Minister, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to supporting Ireland’s participation at the Venice Biennale, noted, ‘international interest in and appreciation of contemporary Irish architecture continues to grow and Ireland’s presence at the Biennale provides an outstanding opportunity for Irish architects to platform new thinking and exhibit Irish architectural approaches.’
The theme of the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, which will be held from 28 May to 27 November 2016, is entitled ‘Reporting from the Front’.
Announcing the theme, Alejandro Aravena, the Biennale artistic director, stated, ‘there are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life…at this Biennale, we want to see stories worth telling and exemplary cases worth sharing where architecture has, is and will make a difference in winning those battles and expanding those frontiers’.1 Responding to the overall theme of the Biennale, the proposal presented by Niall McLaughlin Architects and curated by Yeoryia Manolopoulou, reflects their interest in working as architects to understand and improve the quality of life for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The selected team will examine the spatial experiences of people with Alzheimer’s disease whilst recognising that the experiences of the sufferer are unlikely to resemble any conventional architectural representation. The installation at Venice will record and represent the human experience from this frontline condition and show it as a space with its own characteristics. This central concept will be accompanied by a contextual piece and also a social media campaign to extend the impact of this exhibition beyond the Biennale.

Christine Sisk, Director of Culture Ireland said: ‘The Venice Architecture Biennale is the greatest world showcase for the presentation of contemporary architectural talent. The selection of Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland in 2016 will serve to build on Ireland’s successes over the years at the Biennale and serve to further highlight the ingenuity and responsiveness of Irish architects to difficult challenges.’ Orlaith McBride, Director of the Arts Council, said: ‘The Arts Council is proud to support Niall McLaughlin Architects to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2016. Niall’s work demonstrates the international importance of Irish architectural practice today and we are looking forward to what promises to be a wonderful representation in Venice.”

Our report is a reflection on the lessons learned through a decade of designing buildings for people with dementia. It has two complementary components: a website that collates a mosaic of conversations, drawings, stories and experiments around the subject of dementia; and an immersive installation that tries to envisage a building we designed for people with
dementia through their own experiences. The installation questions the notion of the building as a singular conception, and by extension, those architectural representations that insist upon buildings as finite and whole objects.

Exhibitor: Níall McLaughlin (Níall McLaughlin Architects).