Students and faculty members from Taubman College will represent the U.S., Canada and Kuwait in the world’s top architecture show. From left: U-M Taubman fellows Kristen Gandy, Ramon Hernandez and Diana Tsai map out installation plans in front of the U.S. pavilion with Chiara Barbieri, Peggy Guggenheim Collection manager. It is located within the Castello Gardens that house all the national pavilions of the Venice Biennale. Image credit: Salam RidaANN ARBOR—With eight faculty participants representing three different countries, the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning will take center stage at the world’s top architecture show this summer.

The Venice Architecture Biennale, established in 1980 as part of the 130-year-old Venice Art Biennale, is a celebratory exhibition held every two years that brings together the foremost architectural visionaries practicing today from more than 100 countries.

Not only was Taubman College awarded the U.S. State Department bid to host and curate the 2016 U.S. Pavilion, but work from Taubman faculty will also be presented in the Canadian and Kuwait pavilions as part of 15th International Architecture Exhibition.

“This year, more than ever, you can really see that U-M is one of the major centers of creativity in architecture and urban planning,” said Robert Fishman, interim dean of Taubman College. “Our faculty represent an incredible range of expertise—from digital fabrication to global urbanism, they are international thought leaders for different ways in which cities are being transformed today.”

After nearly a year of preparation, more than 60 Taubman students, staff, fellows and faculty members will travel to Venice this week for the installation and opening of the “The Architectural Imagination” at the U.S. Pavilion.

The exhibition, open to the public May 28-Nov. 27, will use Detroit as a fantastical model of the future to demonstrate how architecture can address the urban and environmental issues of a 21st century postindustrial city.

More information:

• Read the full story on the Arts & Culture website: The Architectural Imagination
• U-M Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
• The Venice Biennale
• The Architectural Imagination