Poverty, Homelessness, and War: Architechture at the Venice Biennale

by B. Lana Guggenheim, Staff Writer

The Venice Biennale is getting a lot of airtime, but what is it? As might be implied from its name, it is a biennial festival held in Venice concerning art, architecture, and film. The first was held in 1895, when the Venetian City Council set up an art exhibit to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy. As the event grew and gained prestige, more nations began presenting their art in national pavilions. Every festival has a name and theme. The 2015 Art festival was named “All the World’s Futures,” and the exhibits naturally concerned the dire state of the world itself, including issues surrounding colonialism, immigration, and multiculturalism. This year is the 15th Architecture biennale, and the theme is “Reporting From the Front.” (The art and architecture shows alternate, so that there is a biennale annually.)

The director and curator for this year’s Architecture Biennale is Alejandro Aravena, a highly accomplished architect who won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2016 for his design of the Siamese Towers at the Catholic University in his home country of Chile. He also won the Silver Lion at the 11th Architecture Biennale, and received a Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2008, and a Holcim Awards Silver for Sustainable Construction. As one can might be able to tell from the nature of his past work, it due to his direction that the theme of this year’s show focuses on what architecture can do to aid the ills of others, rather than examining the ills of the profession, as was done in 2014. As Robert Landon reported from ArchDaily, Aravena stated in his opening remarks that  "We believe that the advancement of architecture is not a goal in itself but a way to improve people’s quality of life." In other words, his biennale does not ask what architecture ought, yet often fails, to be, but rather what it could, yet often forgets, to do.

In the central pavilion, Aravena notes that over a billion rural people will move to the cities, and often their homes will be built without the input of an architect. As a result, the display of simple, reusable templates, designs featuring simple materials, and the ability to be reproduced by non-professionals is both pointed and horizon-broadening. It also recalls Aravena’s downloadable, open-source urban housing project, designed to encourage participatory building and slash costs, with an eye towards infrastructure for the urban poor.

The exhibits here focus on how architecture can improve and otherwise impact lives, and they have a decidedly political bent, showing both success stories and celebrating innovation as well as highlighting where there is desperate need. The sum result is an expansion of horizons, as architecture is called upon to answer environmental, political, social, and economic needs, in profoundly regional and local terms, rather than just (sometimes highly sanitized) cultural, artistic, and functional demands to which the field so often limits itself.

Different pavilions highlight different things, to come together to form a cohesive response to Aravena’s theme. Spain’s pavilion, “Unfinished,” took the prestigious Golden Lion award this year. The recent economic crisis has proven especially hard for the country, and their architectural exhibit relays this struggle, especially for their architects. When the crisis hit, many projects were left unfinished and abandoned as they were no longer economically feasible, and half-completed and ill-maintained projects litter the cityscapes as a result.  Photographs of these buildings present them as an opportunity for the present, with uncertainty and evolution as part of the nature of architecture, and especially poignant for Spain at the current day.

Gabinete de Arquitectura also took a Golden Lion for their exhibit, which was entitled “Breaking the Siege.” Solano Benitez’s studio is focused on bricks, a versatile, easy to make material that is accessible to all walks of life all over the world, and thus uses it almost exclusively. The light, airy structure is a statement on structural ingenuity, simple materials, and unskilled labor to make architecture accessible to underserved communities.

Britain’s pavilion, “Home Economics,” takes a look at their acute housing crisis, thanks in part to Thatcher’s Right to Buy program, which promoted private gain over common prosperity, and helped engineer a housing shortage that gave way to “Generation Rent.” But the nature of the home has also changed over the generations, including mass migration and global interconnectedness along with growing wage disparity and lack of economic mobility. The models on display here therefore show how shared living can be a luxury rather than mere economic necessity, and avoiding the common problems of speculation and predation in the real estate market. The result is very pragmatic and directly applicable.

The Dutch Blue pavilion is particularly interesting, as it addresses the role of architecture in urban conflict. Increasingly, conflicts and the security apparatus and infrastructure supporting it both are in cities. The exhibit looks at the UN outpost at Gao, Mali, with the title of the exhibit in reference to both the UN Peacekeepers’ blue helmets, and the indigo garb of the Tuareg, the desert people who live on the edge of the Sahara. The project proposes that architecture be part of the planning process of UN peacekeeping bases, in order to leave behind a stronger city with better infrastructure and resources that will aid local populations long after the mission has departed.

Ukraine’s exhibition is a live report from the warfront, and Venice’s is dedicated to Marghera, a polluted and abandoned port. Germany’s talks about immigration in the wake of the Syrian influx of refugees, and looks at “problem zones” as opportunities. Scotland’s virtual reality exhibit is both playful and hopeful, using horse masks as the interface to talk about their history and near extinction of their Gaelic culture, depopulation, and re-orientation towards the Nordic and opening Arctic in the wake of climate change and development.

It’s impossible to describe every pavilion, and the regional takes on the Aravena’s global theme. But perhaps most poignant is not what is at the Biennale, but what was inspired by it: one group of Yale students proposed pop-up religious structures to sustain community and culture in refugee camps, where the transient nature normally prevents such structures from being built. This focus on how architecture can address moral and community needs bereft of resources, materials, and expertise, heeding the sacred in a profoundly unsanctioned environment. It shows that Aravena’s call to broaden architecture’s horizons has been heeded.

Works Cited

"Biography: Alejandro Aravena." The Pritzker Architecture Prize. The Hyatt Foundation, Jan. 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

"BLUE: Architecture of UN Peacekeeping Missions: Inside the Netherlands' Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 31 May 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Carnicero, Iñaqui, and Carlos Quintáns. "Spain's "Unfinished" - Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2016 Venice Biennale." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 28 May 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Doroteo, Jan. "Yale Students Propose a Series of Pop-Up Religious Buildings to Sustain Culture in Refugee Camps." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 10 June 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

"First Look: "Reporting from the Front" Arsenale Exhibition." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 26 May 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Landon, Robert. "Aravena's "Reporting From The Front" Is Nothing Like Koolhaas' 2014 Biennale-But It's Equally as Good." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 14 June 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

"Prospect North: Inside Scotland's Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 07 June 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Russeth, Andrew. "The 2015 Venice Biennale’s Central Show, Focused on Strife, Is Uneasy, Uneven." ARTnews. ARTnews, 05 June 2015. Web. 15 June 2016.

Self, Jack. "Home Economics: Inside the British Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 14 June 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Smith, Roberta. "Review: Art for the Planet’s Sake at the Venice Biennale." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 May 2015. Web. 15 June 2016.

Valencia, Nicolás. "Malkit Shoshan on How the City Is a Shared Ground for the Instruments of War and Peace." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 17 May 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

Watkins, Katie. "Gabinete De Arquitectura's." ArchDaily. ArchDaily, 31 May 2016. Web. 15 June 2016.

How to Implement IDEA: IEP and its Limits

by B. Lana Guggenheim, Staff Writer

All students are individuals and require individual attention, but some students are in need of special aid due to disability, autism, or other non-normative factors that hamper their ability to learn at the same rate or pedagogic style as the majority of their peers. For them, the US Department of Education has IDEA: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This legislation provides resources and tools to help children with one or more of 13 listed disabilities, including learning disabilities. While not every child with learning or attention issues will qualify for aid covered by IDEA, there are many options for those who do. One of those options is the IEP, or Individualized Education Program.

IEP is not the only education aid program; it bears some similarity to the 504 plan, including the government bearing the cost of any programs or services offered to aid the child in attaining educational goals. However, the IEP is much more specialized, as well as more difficult to obtain. A child declined for an IEP might yet be covered by 504 services, which tend to modify a regular education program in the general classroom, rather than arrange for a wide array of services outside of it or alongside it. Because the IEP is more highly specialized and encompassing, the law requires much more stringent documentation and implementation.

An IEP legally requires a written document, and the team involved to include not just the student’s parents, but a school psychologist or other specialist, a general teacher, a special education teacher, and a school district representative. The child’s abilities and progress need to be carefully monitored, and immediate benchmarks and long-term annual education goals need to be specified, thus allowing for progress to be measured and goals to be attained. Also, in order for an IEP to be implemented, the child needs to have both an in-school evaluation, and an official diagnosis by a specialist or medical professional. The law requires that meetings of the IEP team occur at least once a year to keep parents abreast of developments, but they usually occur more frequently, and can be called by parents at any time. Finally, a transition plan must kick in a minimum of one year before the child graduates high school and reaches an age of majority. This is when the child herself often is present at IEP meetings, and includes services and support to help the student transition from school to a successful adulthood and achieve post-education goals.

To compare, a 504 plan does not require all these individuals, nor even a written document. Furthermore, while a 504 committee includes parents, the law does not specify the individuals mandated to be on the committee, nor does the law even guarantee parent participation in these meetings, nor is the committee required to keep the parents abreast of developments, nor does it include transition plans as a matter of course. That is not to say that 504 plans are inherently inferior, but they are definitely less thorough, and are probably better suited for students with less severe difficulties or borderline cases.

What happens if things go wrong? The IEP has specific legal processes to resolve disputes. A parent can ask for mediation, and in cases where this does not resolve disagreements, can file a due process complaint. This requires a parent writing an official complaint letter, after which there is a resolution session. If this fails to resolve the issues, a formal due process hearing is held in front of a hearing officer or administrative judge. After this, the parent can file a civil lawsuit. Any agreements reached in any stage of this process are required to be documented in writing. Similar options are available for disagreements arising with the 504 plan, but the steps are not as formalized as they are with the IEP.

The IEP is clearly one of the more intensive options of the few that exist to aid struggling or disabled students. Because it is so comprehensive and requires cooperation between so many people, implementation can easily become difficult. Especially in underprivileged and underserved school districts, teachers are often overwhelmed and don’t receive the support they need to properly execute their general duties, never mind the extra effort it takes to help a struggling student. In addition, both IEP and the 504 plan are aimed at students in public schools. Students in private or charter schools are less able to access these resources to aid children, putting yet more pressure on already strained families, students, and teachers.  But lack of funding and overcrowded schools are well known problems in public schools all over the nation, and as a result students are often underserved and teachers are over-stressed, but those struggling students in need suffer the most.

In fact, disparities in school funding both between school districts and within a district are well recorded. Moreover, in 23 states there are noticeable gaps in funding allocated to rich districts versus poor ones. Children living in poverty arrive in school already disadvantaged, and need more resources just to get on an even footing; instead, they are held further back, and as a result, children in poverty lag behind their wealthier peers across the nation. Studies in New York and Texas show large disparities both within and between specific school districts, which further exacerbate the gap between the rich and the poor. In New York City, the gap could be as high as $400 per student, in favor of the wealthy. And poverty exposes children to many factors that cause developmental delays. A home with lead paint, common in older buildings, might lead to permanent mental disability. Children in low-income homes often lack access to books, adequate healthcare, and their overworked parents lack time with their children, which is a crucial factor for emotional and mental development. This also means that problems will be spotted later, when they are more difficult to address. Already disadvantaged, these children arrive to schools that are more ill-equipped than they ought to be to adequately address their needs.

Programs like IEP are meant to aid these students, but these underserved schools and over-extended teachers all but guarantee that they will not receive the help they need to succeed in comparison to their middle- and upper-class peers. The IDEA legislation and IEP program are crucial steps needed to make sure that students with special needs can flourish to the full extent of their potential, and in the case of students from impoverished backgrounds, break the cycle of poverty and disability. But that can’t happen unless teachers and their schools get the support they need.

Works Cited

Brown, Emma. "In 23 States, Richer School Districts Get More Local Funding than Poorer Districts." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 May 2016.

"Building The Legacy of IDEA." IDEA - Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004. US Department of Education, 2004. Web. 11 May 2016.

"The Difference Between IEPs and 504 Plans." Understood.org. Understood.org, 27 June 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

"Guide to the Individualized Education Program." US Department of Education. US Department of Education, 3 Mar. 2007. Web. 11 May 2016.

Guin, Kacey, Bethany Gross, Scott Deburgomaster, and Margeurite Roza. "Do Districts Fund Schools Fairly?" Education Next. Education Next, 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 11 May 2016.

Lee, Andrew M.I. "How IDEA Protects You and Your Child." Understood.org. Understood.org, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

Lovett, Kenneth. "EXCLUSIVE: Rich, Poor School Funding Disparity Hits Record." NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 11 May 2016.

Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Ross Rubinstein, and Leanna Stiefel. "Why Do Some Schools Get More and Others Less? An Examination of School-Level Funding in New York City." Diss. Institute for Education and Social Policy Wagner and Steinhardt Schools New York U, 2007. Steinhardt.nyu.edu. Steinhardt NYU, 2007. Web. 11 May 2016.

Stanberry, Kristin. "Understanding 504 Plans." Understood.org. Understood.org, 03 June 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

Stanberry, Kristin. "Understanding Individualized Education Programs." Understood.org. Understood.org, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

Valles, Rebecca, and Shawn Fremstad. "Disability Is a Cause and Consequence of Poverty - Talk Poverty." Talk Poverty. TalkPoverty.com, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 May 2016.

Zorgian, Kris, and Jennifer Job. "Poverty and Special Ed." Learn NC. UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education (UNC-CH SOE), 2010. Web. 11 May 2016.