‘reporting from the front’ is the theme of the 2016 venice architecture biennale, under which alejandro aravena has curated projects from around the globe that focus on the need to provide growing numbers of people with accommodation and basic living conditions, under increasingly difficult circumstances. as the director of the 15th international architecture exhibition, aravena has identified front lines around the world where creative architects can bring about a breakthrough in extremely complex urban issues, not least of all in places of military conflict. it is this particular topic that is the focus of malkit shoshan’s ongoing research into the architecture of the united nation’s (UN) peacekeeping missions.
under the auspices of the het nieuwe instituut, malkit shoshan, architect and founder of the architecture think tank FAST, was appointed curator of the dutch pavilion at the venice architecture beinnale 2016. a fellow at the institute for the past two years, shoshan has been dedicated to analyzing the particularly progressive way that the netherlands contributes to the UN’s peacekeeping activities.’
