The exhibition curated by Crimson Architectural Historians is titled "The Banality of Good: can we build New Cities that reflect our values?" and will be presented in the exhibition venue The Giardini. It will display a series of 6 exemplary cities that were planned and built in the post war period until the present day. The selected cities are Almere (Netherlands), Stevenage (UK), Songjiang (China), King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia), Tema (Ghana) and Alphaville-Tamboré (Brasil).

The ‘stories’ of these cities will be showcased through large individual allegorical representations in the shape of huge triptychs. Together these will form an immersive, evocation of the cities and their underlying ideals, set off against a diagrammatic notation of their underlying organization. The exhibition will culminate in a loud call to order, directed at the architectural community to re-enter the intimidating world of urban policies.

The International New Town Institute and Crimson invite the architect to think about what each city should minimally provide, what each city should at least mean for its inhabitants, and which contribution architecture could make to any city. We want architecture to re-engage with the banality of urban planning, as a force for the good.

Click here for more information on the Biennale di Venezia.