Alessandro Melis announced as curator for the Italian Pavilion
It is a great honour being made the curator for your country’s pavilion. This is something Dr Alessandro Melis will fulfil at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition next year.
Dr Melis, a senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Architecture, was delighted when he learned he was being made curator of the Italian Pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia in 2020.
The accolade is one of the most prestigious roles in the architectural world — Dr Melis recently described it as like winning an Oscar.
He said: “ The Venice Biennale is universally recognised as the most important global event in the world of architecture. Being there is like receiving an Oscar for an actor or a film director.
“It is a recognition that is worth a whole career. Probably, in the case of the Italian Pavilion, this is even more true, since Italy is the host country and its pavilion is by far the largest one.”
The announcement was made on the 8th March by the Italian Minister of Culture. The process involved five Italian architects who were invited based on their experience — each architect had to submit a project and after careful consideration, Dr Melis’s project Resilient Communities was the one selected.
