The Guglielmo Pepe Barracks were built between 1591 and 1595, on the island of Lido, in the Venetian lagoon to shelter the defenders of the Serenissima. Military activities ceased there in 1999 and the site has since been decommissioned.
In 2016, the Association Biennale Urbana began to reactivate the building for short periods with the « Urban Intervention Camp » project. Cultural activities and workshops were organized with partners from the lagoon or elsewhere.
This year, thanks to a one-year temporary occupancy agreement granted by the Agenzia del Demanio, Biennale Urbana invited Infinite Places to design and build together the conditions for a unique cultural experience and organize trans-disciplinary residencies.
During practical, concrete, and local experiments exhibited at the French Pavilion, the Esperienza Pepe project is an act of research action driven by a collective will.
This collaboration of Italian and French actors makes it possible to open the magistral court to local and international initiatives.
Find all the upcoming events in Esperienza Pepe.
May 26 to November 25, 2018
Opening hours to the public:
Thursday and Friday from 18:00 to 23:00
Saturday, Sunday from 15:00 to 23:00
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Esperienza Pepe offers several types of participation, ranging from construction sites to organizations or events. To fully live the experience, collective accommodation and reception facilities are provided for participants.
Participate in the Esperienza Pepe!
Access:
Vaporetto station « LIDO Sme » Lines 1, 5.1, 5.2, 6
Then Bus Line A to the station « Chiesa Rava San Nicolo ».
On foot: From the station « LIDO Sme » walk about twenty minutes along the platforms to the North, turn right in front of the church of San Nicolo, the entrance is 20 m to the left of the entrance to Nicelli airport.
Who are we?
Biennale Urbana, a collective of Venetian architects anxious to re-examine the Venice Biennale through the prism of the city’s abandoned places and to promote a dialogue between the inhabitants of the Lagoon and international visitors.
The purpose of the Association Lieux infinis is to develop projects with an artistic, cultural or social vocation, particularly related to research in the field of architecture and its dissemination. It is driven by a collective will, the fruit of the encounter between:
-the architects of Encore Heureux, curators of the exhibition Infinite Places presented in the French Pavilion of the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, which questions the meaning of architecture through the narrative of ten places of innovation and social experimentation in France.
–Yes We Camp, an association of about fifty people, based in Paris and Marseille, which explores the possibilities of building and inhabiting shared spaces.
-Ten places of innovation in France and presented in the exhibition Infinite Places:
The Hotel Pasteur (Rennes) – Le Centquatre-Paris (Paris) – Le Tri Postal (Avignon) – Les Grands Voisins (Paris) – Le 6B (Saint Denis) – La Convention (Auch) – La Friche la Belle de Mai (Marseille) – Les Ateliers Médicis (Clichy sous-Bois Montfermeil) – La Ferme du Bonheur (Nanterre) – La Grande Halle (Colombelles).