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Fibrenamics from the University of Minho at the Venice Biennial

20 Sep 2016News

Fibrenamics from the University of Minho at the Venice Biennial

Fibrenamics from the University of Minho at the Venice Biennial

Fibrenamics from the University of Minho at the Venice Biennial

It has been known for some time that Portugal has a strong presence at the Venice Biennale through names like Álvaro Siza Vieira, what is probably not known is that the University of Minho is also well represented and in a somewhat sui generes project: o UIRA, the first Orbital Olympic Village in history.

The Biennial

The Venice Biennale is an international art exhibition held every two years in Venice, Italy. This year runs from May 28 to November 27.

The Bienal was born in 1895 and since then it has organized multidisciplinary exhibitions subdivided into sectors such as Architecture (International Architecture Exhibition), Art (International Art Exhibition), Cinema (Venice International Film Festival (annual frequency)), Dance (International Festival Contemporary Dance), Music (International Festival of Contemporary Music), Theater (International Theater Festival) and also Historical Archive of Contemporary Art (Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee - ASAC) which aims to conserve the Biennial's heritage, in all its scopes.

The international architecture exhibition only started in 1980, and this is why this year is its 15th edition.

"Time, Space, Existence"

This is the theme of the exhibition that is part of the 2016 edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture and in which three Portuguese will participate: Ricardo Oliveira Alves, Nelson Garrido and Paulo Moreira. But, in addition to these three Portuguese names, the University of Minho and, in particular, the International Fibrenamics Platform also have their space there.

This exhibition presents architects from six continents, while showing current thoughts and developments in architecture, focusing on fundamental issues, discussing philosophical concepts such as Time, Space and Existence.

The exhibition shows a great diversity of projects that combine classic architectural presentations with surprisingly artistic elements. Additionally, an extraordinary combination of architectural photographs is being presented for the first time. By reconciling different thoughts and architectural approaches, this exhibition aims to expand the human consciousness of personal existence as human beings in a specific time and space.

Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta is one of those artists who is having the opportunity to exhibit his works and it is also through him that the Fibrenamics of the University of Minho is represented there.

An “interplanetary” artist

Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta is a musician, artist and architect and has always had a special predilection for everything related to the cosmos and life in space. With Brazilian roots, Emanuel Pimenta develops his works using the structure of thought, involving virtual reality, the theory of knowledge and neurosciences.

This year is the sixth time that he participates in the Venice Biennale, however it is his debut at the Architecture Biennale.

His work is called “The Infinite of Architecture” and turns out to be another show, which includes several projects developed by the artist. When asked why he created a show within another one (“Time, Space, Existence”), Emanuel assured: “Because this is the virtual world, of cyberspace. My exhibition covers 35 years of architecture. In 1980 I coined the concept of “virtual architecture”. In 2000 I started to work with space architecture, for buildings outside the planet Earth. ”

One of the central projects of the show is UIRA, the first orbital Olympic village in history, which is a platform for knowledge and creativity involving universities, artists, scientists, students and researchers from the most diverse disciplines. It is in this project that the University of Minho appears, since it is the centralization of the project.

Emanuel had already developed some spatial architecture projects, having in 2011 created and directed the first space architecture course in Brazil, at the University of São Paulo. According to the account, Emanuel had a collaborative relationship with the University of Minho, more particularly with the International Platform Fibrenamics, having already developed with it some projects such as “Kairos” and “Pulsar” and, after that, “the idea of ​​creating a city came up orbital for twenty thousand people, all made in fabrics, with the help of solutions at the level of nanotechnology ”. Raul Fangueiro, Fibrenamics coordinator, with extensive experience in knowledge transfer between universities and companies and a specialist in fibrous materials, has supported the project since its inception, as well as Pedro Andrade, professor and specialist in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the department Communication and Society, which is also part of this project.

Fibrenamics from the University of Minho participates in this project as a research platform in the field of advanced materials, capable of responding effectively to the demands of its use in environmental conditions so different from those in which they are normally used. It is therefore a key contribution for the project to be carried out, moving from the conceptual model to the physical model, ending all aspects idealized by its creator. “The revolution that has been taking place in terms of materials, making them increasingly capable of thinking and acting on their own due to external stimuli, will certainly continue to give rise to extremely challenging solutions for the realization of this type of approaches followed by Emanuel Pimenta ”, Stresses Raul Fangueiro, Fibrenamics coordinator.

“Portugal is capable of leading an interplanetary project”

Whenever a project is developed there is a message that is intended to be conveyed, an impact that is to be created. Within the scope of this exhibition, Emanuel Pimenta clarifies that he is not limited to just one message, but to several. One of them is to convey the idea that Portugal, and especially the University of Minho, is capable of leading a transdisciplinary project on a planetary level. “This requires knowledge, but it also requires organizational skills,” says the artist. In addition, it is a collaborative project of civil society. A dream for young people, and a platform for interaction for older people. But at the same time, "it is also a project through which many important solutions for our planet can be discovered", he also assures. "We can lead a process of discoveries at the scientific level and beyond, so important for our overpopulated and polluted planet", concludes Emanuel.

On September 22, at 5 pm Portuguese time, Emanuel Pimenta will make a public presentation about the UIRA project at the Venice Biennale, in Italy, where he will reveal more details about this mega project. The presentation will also include the participation of Raul Fangueiro, Fibrenamics coordinator, and Pedro Andrade, from the Communication and Society Department.

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