A Chinese pavilion will mark the country's debut exhibition at a prestigious international event in Italy.

 

The 10th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale will take place from September 10 to November 19.

 

Different from modern architectural designs, the pavilion will be made purely of tiles that are laid in rows to cover an area of 800 square meters.

 

It will rise above the ground diagonally and gradually reach 3.6 meters high. A bamboo bridge will wind over the surface, but stop unexpectedly at an elevated point to place visitors amidst a sea of tiles.

 

It was designed by architect Wang Shu in coordination with Professor Xu Jiang, president of the China Academy of Art, who provided necessary artistic consultation. According to them, the tile structure embodies both architectural techniques and reflections on Chinese traditional culture.

 

Tiles are commonly used for building roofs in southern China's residential houses. Its close relationship with nature and people has profound historical and cultural connotations.

 

"The image of the tile is in line with the traditional Chinese philosophy of looking for roots in nature," said Xu Jiang when explaining the unique feature of the building material. "Chinese architecture needs to turn to itself and find a way out against the sweeping force of globalization and urbanization, which has deprived the cities of their original spirit."

 

Fan Di'an, curator of the National Art Museum of China, said that the design of China Pavilion shows the awareness of Chinese architects to address social problems in the fast-developing metropolitan areas.

 

Construction is due to start in Venice on August 15, and is expected to be completed in just under four weeks.

 

According to architect Wang, sustainable development features as one of the key elements in their design, and the 60,000 tiles are all reclaimed from old buildings.

 

(China Daily August 7, 2006)