Platform Austria – Midissage

On August 28, 2021, the Austrian pavilion will host a series of panel discussions to mark the halfway point of the 2021 Architecture Biennale. 30 of the architects, artists, and researchers exhibiting in the Austrian pavilion this year will meet in Venice to expand upon the ideas presented in their contributions, and to jointly address the exhibition’s central theme—platform urbanism.

The discussions, which will include the voices of Saskia Sassen, Peggy Deamer, Richard Sennett, Sandro Mezzadra, Irit Rogoff, Tom Avermaete and Slutty Urbanism, amongst others, will address the critical intersection between new platform technologies and urban development, alongside reflections upon the core question framing this year’s Biennale: “How Will We Live Together?” This discursive programme is one aspect of a larger platform framework that will materialise during the weekend of 27–29 August through a series of public events. These events, which will take the form of discussions, book launches, gatherings and walking tours, will be hosted by pavilions across the Giardini, Arsenale and throughout Venice, as well as online. 

Midissage, August 27–29, 2021

This year’s curators of the Austrian pavilion, Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer, have coordinated and initiated this “midissage” of the national pavilions participating in the 2021 Architecture Biennale. Through its diverse programme, the midissage seeks to set an example of international solidarity and cooperation in architecture. It intends to demonstrate how the curators of more than 50 national pavilions, who have come together in a Curators Collective, envision a future of architecture based on mutual support.

“For us, it was important that the many national contributions to this unique Biennale, which is about the future of living together, should be able to enter into dialogue with one another. Especially in this time of confinement and isolation, we wanted to create a forum that brings together curators, experts, and visitors to exchange with one another as if on a platform, both in Venice itself and online.” —Peter Mörtenböck

“While our initial idea of an on-site weekly residency programme at the Austrian pavilion in Venice had to be adapted to a virtual setting online, this midissage will provide an opportunity for everyone involved in the project to engage in these conversations in person. The midissage will create a platform for dialogue both within the Austrian contribution and across many other national pavilions, one that can open up completely new paths in architectural discourse.” —Helge Mooshammer

Panel discussions on Platform Urbanism, August 28, 2021
The discussions hosted by the Austrian Pavilion will be accessible to all visitors of the 2021 Architecture Biennale and made available online for those who cannot attend physically.

11am–12pm
The Future Is Public: Activism in the Age of Platform Capital
Slutty Urbanism, University of Amsterdam
Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann, Vienna
Into the Black Box, University of Bologna
chaired by Carmen Lael Hines

12–1pm
City on Demand? Questioning the Urbanisation of Technology Capital
Daniel Cardoso Llach, Carnegie Mellon University
Leo Hollis, London
Jochen Becker, metroZones, Berlin
Bernadette Krejs, TU Wien
chaired by Helge Mooshammer

1–2pm
Access Is the New Capital: How Did We Get Here, and What’s Next?
Tom Avermaete, ETH Zurich
Mona Mahall, HCU Hamburg
Asli Serbest, HFK Bremen
Peter Lang, Rome
chaired by Peter Mörtenböck

2–3pm
Networked Practices: Curatorial Platforms and Collective Action
Irit Rogoff, Goldsmiths, University of London
Hae-Won Shin, curator of the Korean Pavilion
Rafał Śliwa, curator of the Polish Pavilion
chaired by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer

3–4pm
The Platform Is My Boyfriend: Data Bodies and Infrastructures
Benj Gerdes, Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm
Ofri Cnaani, Goldsmiths, University of London
Lucia Babina, Bologna
Gabu Heindl, Vienna
chaired by Carmen Lael Hines

4–5pm
Labour in the Platform City
Saskia Sassen, Columbia University
Richard Sennett, MIT
Peggy Deamer, Yale University
Sandro Mezzadra, University of Bologna
chaired by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer

For more details on the participating speakers’ contributions to the exhibition in the Austrian pavilion, please visit here. 

Accompanying publication
Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer (eds.): Platform Urbanism and Its Discontents. Rotterdam: nai010 publishers, 2021.