VW: ID. Buzz brings tools for the German pavilion emission-free to the Biennale

Repair and Recycle, that is the laudable motto of the German Pavilion at the upcoming Architecture Biennale in Venice. Aboard a fully electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo, numerous tools and repair materials have now reached the world-famous exhibition site in the Venice lagoon. The curator team appointed by the Federal Ministry of Building has thus completed the first stage of implementing its innovative exhibition concept “Open for Maintenance – Due to Renovation.”

When the 18th Architecture Biennale opens to the public in Venice on May 20, 2023, the German Pavilion will invite visitors to repair and recycle. According to the concept of the curator team ARCH+/SUMMACUMFEMMER/BÜRO JULIANE GREB, the distinctive pavilion will have been transformed into a fully equipped workshop.

Sustainable and resource-conserving, the first part of the work has already begun with a material transport from Leipzig to the Venice lagoon. The nearly four cubic meters of cargo volume in the electric van were filled to the roof with power tools, hand tools, and workshop equipment provided by partners of the German Biennale contribution. In Venice, the equipment was loaded onto a boat to be brought to the Giardini – the exhibition grounds in the eastern part of the lagoon city.

Repair instead of Dispose: The Motto Fits the Times

Under the title “Open for Maintenance – Due to Renovation,” the curators will set up the fully functional interactive workshop in the German Pavilion in the coming weeks, where Biennale guests as well as international initiatives, universities, and training institutions will bring existing materials from previous exhibitions into new contexts. The aim is to create a vivid engagement with the design opportunities of maintenance, reuse, and longevity for the development of urban spaces.

The Volkswagen Group is a partner of the German contribution to the 18th Architecture Biennale, taking place in Venice from May 20 to November 26, 2023. The partnership for the exhibition project, which focuses on resource conservation through reuse, repair, and revitalization, is part of Wolfsburg's cultural engagement. Central to this is the promotion of new and broad access to artistic positions. They aim to enable many people to experience art and culture and thereby gain new perspectives. These, in turn, are essential for the development of innovations and the strengthening of societal understanding.

Further information about the German contribution “Open for Maintenance – Due to Renovation” can be found here.