15th Venice Architecture Biennale | Thailand Pavilion

Pavilion of Thailand, Class of 6.3 exhibition, installation view, photo © Inexhibit

Thailand Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia
Class of 6.3. Rebuilding Nine Schools after the 2014 Chiang Roi Earthquake

Hundreds of thin poles, placed in the middle of a darkened space, slowly oscillate after the visitors inevitably brush against them while passing through.

The Pavilion of Thailand at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale resembles a hay field rippled by the wind. Yet, it is not an allusion to a peaceful landscape, but to the sense of uncertainty and precariousness that remains after an earthquake.

Pavilion of Thailand, Class of 6.3 exhibition, installation views, photo © Inexhibit

In 2014, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand, destroying private and public buildings.

After that dramatic event, the association Design for Disasters started a project by asking nine Thai architects to design nine school buildings, in a team with designers, engineers, educators, and school directors.

The exhibition presents those projects: nine earthquake-proof elementary schools, all built with the involvement of the local communities, which both re-create proper educational spaces for the children and stimulate a reflection on the relationship between good architecture and the educational process.

The nine schools are:

Baan Doi Chang School
Baan Hua Rin child development center
Baan Nong Bua school
Baan pa gor dum community school
Huay San Yao Witthaya school
Phan subdistrict administrative school (Baan Don Ton)
Pong Phrae Wittaya school
Saikao subdistrict administrative school (Baan Ta Haw)
Than thong witthaya school (Pa Ruak)

Baan Nong Bua school, photo © Inexhibit

Saikao subdistrict administrative school (Baan Ta Haw), photo © Andrea Avezzù

Baan Pa Gor Dum community school, photo © Andrea Avezzù

Baan Pa Gor Dum community school, photo © Inexhibit