A doorbell with a camera, a horseshoe placed over the doorframe, a fire extinguisher in the hallway, a panicle suspended from the roof structure, an alarm to protect against uninvited guests. Ways to feel safe in architecture are many. They differ in effectiveness, sometimes even in rationality. What is important, however, is what they have in common.
A&B partners at the Biennale
Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
The Polish Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale opened today with the exhibition "Lars and Penates. On building a sense of security in architecture" prepared by an interdisciplinary team consisting of: Aleksandra Kędziorek, Krzysztof Maniak, Katarzyna Przezwańska and Maciej Siuda.
The exhibition will be on view in the Polonia Pavilion for the entire duration of the Venice Biennale - until November 23, 2025. This year's installment of the largest celebration of architecture, curated by Italian architect Carlo Ratti, is held under the theme "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective " ("Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective."). How does the Polish exhibition fit into this theme?
"Intelligens" talks about intelligence, which is natural, artificial and collective. We understand it through the prism of the same categories, only that in a pre-Enlightenment way. It is not based only on the power of reason, but also on emotions or communality. "Lars and penates" is an atlas of collective knowledge. Carlo Ratti strongly emphasizes the last syllable of the main slogan gens, which means people. In our work we pay attention to their needs and the anxieties that accompany them
- explained Aleksandra Kędziorek, curator of the exhibition, in an interview with Przemyslaw Ciępka.
lars and penates
The title laras and penats is a rather archaic term referring to both the house and the furnishings in it, it also refers to caring spirits who took care of domestic happiness, protecting the inhabitants from dangers.In a way, it is another layer of concern for the sense of security underlying architecture, which is, after all, supposed to give us shelter.
The exhibition "Lars and Penates. On building a sense of security in architecture".
photo: Ola Kloc
The exhibition "Lars and penats. About building a sense of security in architecture".
photo: Ola Kloc
The creators of the exhibition looked at rituals, superstitions rooted in tradition (coming from the order of a sense of security) and technical solutions, regulations - building, fire, health and safety (coming from the order of security). They showed them as equally important, complementary, supporting people's sense of agency.
The exhibition "Lars and penates. On building a sense of security in architecture".
photo: Ola Kloc
This exhibition is, in a sense, a collection of props - objects that are emanations of fears and at the same time responses to them. They are used to perform various preventive, protective practices. We try to mix orders with each other, next to the fire extinguisher, for example, stands a divining rod. In this way we blur the division between effective and ineffective, rational and irrational practices
- Aleksandra Kędziorek adds.
fire extinguisher a sacred thing!
The exhibition is built around an axis that begins even before the entrance to the Polonia Pavilion - a topping can be seen on the roof, a horseshoe hangs over the door, and further on - in a niche resembling a rococo grotto - a fire extinguisher has been installed. There was also the traditional, more than a century old wooden threshold of the house - a symbolic boundary between the outside world and the safe interior. One should remember not to greet through it (just in case!), however, one can always carry someone through it (for luck!).
The exhibition "Lars and penates. On building a sense of security in architecture".
Photo: Ola Kloc
A&B is a media patron of the exhibition. The conversation "Fire extinguisher a sacred thing! About building a sense of security in architecture" with the creators of the exhibition in the Polish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale can be read in the May issue of A&B. We invite you to read it!
Are you curious about what is happening at the Venice Biennale? Check us out, we will keep you up to date on this feast of architecture!
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