Description:
On May 28, Beirut-based firm 109 Architectes unveiled Notes on a Tree at the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture. The interactive installation is part of the GAA Foundation’s annual “Time – Space – Existence” exhibition and commemorates Lebanon’s lost public spaces.
Notes on a Tree tackles the role of the architect in countries like Lebanon, where developers often dictate urban planning. The firm uses its own projects as examples of successes and disappointments in preserving public space, which is symbolized by specific trees. Some trees were saved and some were lost, but each one represents a community’s history and collective memory.
The installation is a response to a call from Alejandro Aravena, director of this year’s Biennale, who said, “[The Venice Biennale] will present cases and practices where creativity was used to take the risk to go even for a tiny victory, because when the problem is big, just a one-millimeter improvement is relevant.”
Guests at the exhibition will be offered cedar and pine seeds and invited to plant them anywhere in the world. They are then asked to visit "notesonatree.com" and pin their tree’s location on a map, we welcome you to do the same; simply send us a message to request your seed. The map will be projected in real-time back to the installation at the Venice Biennale, along with a live feed of social media posts tagged #notesonatree.
In keeping with an Eco-conscious approach, the exhibit will produce minimal waste and nearly all material is recycled, recyclable or reusable. The Notes on a Tree website was developed in partnership with new media agency Born Interactive.
