NEOM’s first international exhibition in Venice, Palazzo Franchetti Architecture Show Italy
NEOM’s First International Exhibition in Venice
21 May 2023
Location: Abbazia di San Gregorio, Dorsoduro 172, 30123 Venice, Italy
NEOM – International Exhibition
More than 20 of the world’s leading architects, designers and future thinkers led a major opening event for NEOM’s first international exhibition in Venice. The exhibition marks the launch of the concept of Zero Gravity Urbanism and the design principles behind THE LINE, NEOM’s groundbreaking linear city.
photo © NEOM – NEOM leadership and world-leading architects, designers and urban thinkers open NEOM’s first international exhibition in Venice.
Pictured from left to right: Ramon Gras (Aretian – Urban Analytics and Design), Ignacio Gomez (Aedas), Ricardo E. Bofill (RBTA), Martin Josst (DMAA), Roman Delugan (DMAA), Dwayne Oyler (Oyler Wu), Tobias Wallisser (LAVA), Rayan Fayez (NEOM Deputy CEO), Alexander Rieck (LAVA), Nahdmi Al-Nasr (NEOM CEO), Willy Müller (IAAC), Massimiliano Fuksas (FUKSAS), Olivier Pron (First Idea), Doriana Fuksas (FUKSAS), Tarek Qaddumi (NEOM Executive Director of Urban Planning), Jean Nouvel (Ateliers Jean Nouvel), Antoni Vives (NEOM Chief Urban Planning Officer), Eui-Sung Yi (Morphosis), Ben Van Berkel (UNStudio), Kent Larson (L3cities), Sir Peter Cook (CHAP), Luca Dini (Luca Dini Design & Architecture), Alex McDowell (Experimental Design), Michael W. Bischoff (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners)
Sir Peter Cook, Massimiliano Fuksas, Jean Nouvel and Ben van Berkel were among the world-renowned architects who joined CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr and other representatives from NEOM leadership on stage. Their presence marked their collective contribution to the development of the principles of Zero Gravity Urbanism, and reflected the global significance of this moment.
They were joined by more than 100 other architects and urban experts at the opening reception at the Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice. Zero Gravity Urbanism represents one of the most significant proposals on how cities could be designed and built to have been put forward in generations.
photo © Iwan Baan – Zero Gravity Urbanism – NEOM’s first international exhibition in Venice
NEOM’s landmark architecture exhibition Zero Gravity Urbanism – Principles for a New Livability is now open to visitors and runs from 20 May until 24 September 2023.
Set in the historic Abbazia di San Gregorio, one of Venice’s oldest buildings, the exhibition’s focal point is a large-scale 9x13m relief plan of NEOM set in in the central courtyard, reflecting THE LINE’s minimal and harmonious interaction with its natural environment and its passage through coastal, mountain and desert landscapes.
Zero Gravity Urbanism is a linear and three-dimensional concept that provides an innovative alternative to our current urban model. Created to address key challenges, including a growing demand for urban land, rising social and economic inequalities, and climate change, it is a model for developing cities with a radical approach to nature conservation, livability and human progress.
Connecting pressing global challenges with viable urban solutions, the relief plan’s surrounding cloisters and exhibition rooms present concepts, drawings and models created by the international architecture community in response to these global challenges.
Saudi Minister of Culture HH Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud visited the exhibition at a special pre-opening reception.
NEOM is presenting a series of talks from leading architects, academics and urban thinkers on the sidelines of the exhibition.
Antoni Vives, Chief Urban Planning Officer of NEOM, said; “Brought to life in Venice through the design proposals and intellectual contribution of the world’s leading architects and urban thinkers, Zero Gravity Urbanism represents a proposal of how humanity can better respond to the urban challenges we face globally.”
Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of Urban Planning of NEOM, said, “Tonight represented an important next step onto the global stage for Zero Gravity Urbanism, as the world’s wider architecture community now has the opportunity to see the depth of thinking and work that has gone into this incredible project from so many prominent thinkers and architects.”
For details on the public program and to register for complimentary tickets visit neomvenice.com.
About NEOM
NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory – a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and reinventing environmental conservation.
NEOM will include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition team
Curator: Ramon Prat (Actar / Urbannext.net)
Production design: Squint/Opera, We Exhibit
Concept design: Mediapro Exhibitions
Contributors (In alphabetical order)
Adjaye Associates
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA)
Fuksas
Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA)
Luca Dini Design & Architecture
Morphosis
Oyler Wu Collaborative
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Sir Peter Cook & CHAP (Cook Haffner Architecture Platform)
UNStudio
Interviews (In alphabetical order)
Michael W. Bischoff, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Ricardo E. Bofill, Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA)
Sir Peter Cook, Cook Haffner Architecture Platform (CHAP)
Roman Delugan, Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA)
Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas, Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas, Fuksas
Ramon Gras, Aretian – Urban Analytics and Design
Martin Josst, DMAA
Kent Larson, L3cities
Thom Mayne, Morphosis
Alex McDowell, Experimental Design
Jean Nouvel, Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Wolf Prix, Coop Himmelb(l)au
Olivier Pron, Intelligent Design Agency (IDEA)
Alexander Rieck, LAVA
Ben van Berkel, UNStudio
Tobias Wallisser, LAVA
Eui-Sung Yi, Morphosis
Exhibition photography only: Iwan Baan
Event image: NEOM
Visitor Information
Zero Gravity Urbanism – Principles for a New Livability
Saturday 20 May to Saturday 24 September 2023
Opening hours 10am-7pm (Tuesday closed)
Abbazia di San Gregorio
Dorsoduro 172
30123 Venice, Italy
Vaporetto stop: Salute
Visit the exhibition website for further information and to to register for complimentary tickets visit www.neom.com
NEOM’s First International Exhibition in Venice images/information received 210523
Location: Abbazia di San Gregorio, Dorsoduro 172, 30123 Venice, Italy
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