Both Mississippi State’s Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio are selections among 54 national finalists featured this year in Venice, Italy, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, a premier international architectural showcase.
The U.S. Pavilion exhibition theme for “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity,” focuses on “the porch as a central element in American architecture, highlighting its social, environmental and democratic significance.” Running May 10-Nov. 23, the exhibit is organized by the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas in collaboration with DesignConnects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
MSU College of Architecture, Art and Design Dean Angi Bourgeois said the Venice Biennale has long been the preeminent international recognition of excellence in the world of art and design.
“It is such an incredible honor to have not one, but two projects selected as finalists. Inclusion in the Biennale is an excellent indicator of the strength of the longstanding cultural impact of the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center and the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio. I am amazingly proud of our people and their work, both of which are extremely deserving of this international acknowledgement,” Bourgeois said.
Small Town Center Director Leah Kemp said inclusion in the international event also elevates the university’s reputation. Her center’s exhibition model highlights the Neshoba County Fair’s public porch, which is an extension of the iconic cabin porches.
“We are delighted to be selected from over 400 applicants to shine the spotlight on the decades-long work of MSU’s Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center, and we’re thrilled that our body of work is being celebrated and recognized among other extremely talented and prominent architects,” said Kemp. She explained that the center’s architectural research about the Neshoba County Fair began at the center’s inception with the 1989 book “The Neshoba County Fair: Place and Paradox in Mississippi.” The biennale model is an extension of the initial research. She thanked project advisor Michael Berk, retired MSU School of Architecture director emeritus, as well as architect Fran Pharis and Building Services Coordinator Scott Hudspeth for their significant contributions.
The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio exhibition showcases “Women in Construction: Claiming Power on the Porch.” It highlights two allied organizations evolved in rebuilding work following Hurricane Katrina—the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio and Women in Construction, an organization that provides skills training for women to gain employment in the construction industry. The two organizations have worked together to design and build houses, park buildings, trails and the organization’s own facility.
Professor David Perkes, who serves as GCCDS director, said the collaborative, mutually beneficial work resulted in a showcase for the high-caliber work women can accomplish in the construction field.
The 19th International Architecture Exhibition—curated by Carlo Ratti, a top 10 most-cited scholar in urban planning and an international leading designer—is titled “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” Ratti directs the SENSEable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more details, visit https://www.labiennale.org/it.