Oriental Wisdom Shines in Venice: UAD Proposes "Balanced Symbiosis" as A Sustainable Solution

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VENICE, Italy, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the invitation of the European Cultural Centre (ECC), the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), in collaboration with the Center for Balance Architecture of Zhejiang University (BAC) and the Zhejiang University Architecture & Planning Alliance (ZAP), will participate in the parallel exhibition "TIME SPACE EXISTENCE(TSE)" at the 2025 Venice Biennale.

The TSE in 2025, themed on "Repair, Regenerate, Reuse", urges architects, artists, designers and scholars to reflect on the transformative power of architectures. The exhibition brings together 207 architects, designers, artists, and scholars from 52 countries, showcasing innovative architectural proposals, experimental designs, and Utopian visions for future urban living. Featuring architectural works, research, speculative projects, and installations, the event is meant to explore how the discipline of architecture can contribute to ecological and social restoration.

Date
10:00 - 18:00
May 10 to November 23, 2025

Location
#17A, Floor M, Palazzo Mora
No.3659, STRADA NUOVA, Venice 30121, Italy

Chief Curator
Dong Danshen

Executive Curator
Mo Zhoujin

For the exhibition, UAD takes "Towards Balance, Towards Symbiosis" as the theme, elaborating on the essence of architecture and education through Eastern wisdom. It conveys that the role of contemporary architects has transcended traditional design boundaries, emphasizing social responsibility - addressing urban development, citizen needs, and social equity, thereby becoming a bridge for societal governance. The exhibition conveys the tenets of Chinese philosophy in an international context: the world is always in a dynamic balance. The Oriental wisdom does not advocate simply breaking the balance, but seeks the harmonious symbiosis of contradictions. This concept of symbiosis may, to some extent, offers new ideas for solving social problems.

"Balance Architecture" inherits the Confucian tradition, advocating concepts such as "unity of knowledge and action" and "people-oriented thought". It also connects with materialist dialectics, placing the subject and object of design within "dialectics" and "the theory of contradictions". "Balance Architecture" is rooted in "people", with "people-oriented thought" as its highest value goal. Under the goal, "Balance Architecture" points to "ad Locum symbiosis": discovering appropriateness, pursuing relevance and adaptive interaction. In addressing the three fundamental questions of architecture—"utility, firmness, and beauty"—it interprets them as three pairs of basic contradictions: engineering and humanity, regulation and expression, and technology and artistry. This gives rise to three basic paths of "symbiosis", which include: by balancing contradictions between engineering and humanity, to clarify values integrating rationality and sensibility; by reconciling conflicts between regulation and expression, to construct logic unifying norms and forms; by harmonizing distinctions between technology and artistry, to explore aesthetics synthesizing skill and art.

Based on the above pathways, this exhibition focuses on multiple dimensions of "Balance Architecture" with concrete practice. The "dynamic balance" of all relevant elements of the built environment is promoted through the symbiosis of architecture with society, culture, tradition, city and environment, and the state of "harmonious symphony" is achieved, thus striking a balance between "Repair, Regenerate and Reuse".

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