On November 17th The Architect's Newspaper goes live with PORCH TV, a one-day broadcast inspired by the US pavilion at the 19th Biennale Architettura. With support from the University of Arkansas' Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and in collaboration with DesignConnects and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the program brings the pavilion's thesis – the porch as a place of openness, exchange and a bit of American hospitality – into the digital world, inviting architects and audiences to take a seat and join in the conversation.
Register now for PORCH TV.
Cross-continental conversations
Eight episodes will be streamed live from 12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, including keynotes, interviews and three panels. Together, these three groupings—“Spaces of Community,” “Spaces of Nature,” and “Spaces of Memory”—expand PORCH's question of how architecture might embody generosity in conversations that span scales, regions, and disciplines.
Episode 1: Community spaces
To kick off the afternoon, “Spaces of Community” brings together architects who design for collective experiences. Jerome Haferd of Harlem-based Jerome Haferd Studio and Daniel Simons of San Francisco-based David Baker Architects will discuss how architecture can accommodate civic and cultural life in equitable and imaginative ways. They are joined by Andrew Freear of Auburn University Rural Studio, Carol Ross Barney of Ross Barney Architects and David Perkes of Gulf Coast Community Design Studio. They are all leaders whose work translates the social mission into a concrete form. The discussion explores how projects rooted in housing, public space and cultural infrastructure can act as engines of belonging.
Episode 3: Spaces of Nature
Episode 3, “Spaces of Nature,” brings together designers whose practices address landscape, material, and ecology. Jesus Robles of Tucson's DUST, Rick Sommerfeld of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, Eric Logan of CLB Architects, Gullivar Shepard of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, and Brian Farling of Jones Studio will present approaches that reconnect people to place. Her projects, ranging from desert dwellings to forest classrooms to adaptive landscapes, question what it means to build with and in nature in a time of ecological urgency.
Episode 5: Rooms of Memory
In the late afternoon, “Spaces of Memory” turns to the narratives that architecture carries. Alma Du Solier of Hood Design Studio, Albert Chao of COLES HOUSE Project, James Leng of Figure, Jason Jackson of brg3s architects and Susan Jones of atelierjones will reflect on how design communicates history, preservation and cultural heritage. Whether through mass timber innovations or community-based storytelling, their work shows how architecture can both honor the past and shape a more inclusive future.
Final Thoughts
The conclusion is a conversation with the critics Mabel Wilson, Mark Lamber and Inga Saffron. Together they will reflect on the pavilion's lasting impact and its thesis that generosity could serve as a design ethos in divided times.
The program concludes with closing remarks. As the Pavilion's physical presence in Venice ends later this month, attention now turns to closing events and activations, as well as how the Pavilion's ideas of generosity and place will resonate beyond the Giardini.
As the US Pavilion in Venice nears the end of its run, PORCH TV offers an act of connection. By broadcasting this dialogue to a global audience, the event extends the pavilion's veranda beyond the Venetian front garden and invites anyone, anywhere, to enter it.
Register now for PORCH TV to be there on November 17th. The AIA authorizes up to five hours of learning units for the event. Participation is free.
The Architect's Newspaper is the U.S. Pavilion's education/outreach partner.