REPUBLIC of COMMON GROUND

About

Departing from Venice

At the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, which has ‘Common Ground’ as its theme, Günther Vogt’s exhibition piece takes Venice itself as the starting point. It examines public space, understood as being the commons, caught in the conflict between resource and utilization. By interviewing the local residents and tourists in various public places all over Venice, the intention is to present a subjective perception of the local ‘resource’ and its regulatory framework in relation to everyday life. The results of the hidden

surveys will be translated into the language of the kiosk where this un-common view will be offered to passersby in Venice in the form of newspapers, maps, postcards, etc.. As the smallest building in the city, the kiosk is open to the widest possible section of the general public, and will thereby establish a dialogue between the city and the Biennale, as admission is free to all - firmly rooted in the common ground of the city.

Theme

un-common Venice

What do a turquoise-coloured kiosk with all sorts of curios, posters in the city with unusual statements and a cup of water have in common? You will not find any answers on the corner of Via Garibaldi and Riva dei Sette Martiri, instead you get a hidden

couple of questions in return and the renaissance of a public space that has been closed for a long time: An everyday kiosk that reveals an unfamiliar Venice.

Get a cup of water for free in the city’s Common Ground at the kiosk on the corner of Via Garibaldi and Riva dei Sette Martiri.

A small, turquoise-coloured kiosk on the corner of Via Garibaldi and Riva dei Sette Martiri has been attracting the attention of passersby and visitors at this year’s Architecture Biennale ever since the 25th of August. Maybe this is just because you can get a cup of drinking water there for free?! It certainly brings many people in, away from the blazing August sun, for a welcome refreshment.
The kiosk is part of a project by Günther Vogt adopted at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, which devotes itself to the topic of “Common Ground”. Günther Vogt’s contribution takes the topic literally, whereby he sees the public space as common land (‘commons’) and has examined this accordingly with regard to the relationship between resources and utilization. Venice seems to be a suitable paradigm for this observation because of the clear separation of public and private space, and because of the tension between local and global use - against a backdrop of the critical question of a potential overuse by mass tourism (see ‘Tragedy of the commons’).
An attempt was made by means of a pedestrian survey conducted at various public places throughout the city with the help of student from the IUAV (University of Venice) to identify a hidden

differentiated perception of the “resource of Venice” and its regulatory framework in relation to everyday life. It dealt with the question of how this place is used, assimilated and mentally conceived, how one gets about there and orients oneself, and what its specific characteristics and qualities are. The understanding of Venice, respectively of the public space as the “commons”, and the focus on the subjective perspective of users - from local residents to the global day-trippers – should, as it were, open up an unusual view of Venice (“uncommon Venice”) stemming from an everyday perception and familiar events.
An initial, low-profile occupation of the urban space takes place from August to December with posters that address the residents and tourists in all the languages of the countries participating in the Biennale. The posters launch the public debate with statements and questions on the subject of common ground.
A second occupation takes place over the period of the Biennale with the running of an existing kiosk in Venice, located at the corner of Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Riva dei Sette Martiri. This type of kiosk, of which there are only a few in Venice, hidden

is a formal reminder of the Islamic roots of this kind of small-scale architecture. There were small street kiosks during the time of the Ottoman Empire from the early 16th century, which served as a public fountain house, because under Islamic law, the supply of the urban population with safe drinking water was one of the duties of the ruling families and wealthy individuals. There used to be a servant inside the fountain houses, who would serve out free drinking water to the passersby. As water is one of the most important public assets (commons), this tradition has been resumed.
The kiosk also serves as a communication and presentation platform for the results of the pedestrian surveys. The findings derived from the surveys will be translated into the language of the kiosks, where this unfamiliar side of Venice will be sold in the form of newspapers, postcards, maps, etc.. The inventory of the kiosk will be supplemented by contributions from students and friends from the fields of architecture, art and design, whereby the kiosk will become the common platform for a diversity of views and opinions on the ‘un-common Venice’. All the articles in the kiosk will be given to the passersby hidden

on the condition that they participate in the survey, thus making them a part of the project.
In the context of the Biennial Exhibition at the Corderie there is only the more abstract, empty shell of the kiosk from the Via Garibaldi, in which the copper surface reflects the posters mounted on the exhibition walls. The installation in the Corderie is therefore the reflector and archive of the ‘real’ common grounds in the city outside.
Without wanting to see the kiosk as an allegory for public space or the city, it seems suitable to us as a strategy and common platform: As the guardian of trivia, it thrives on the juxtaposition of variety wherein every little thing has its own identity, but the quality is first created when it is combined in the context of diversity in the smallest of spaces. In an unruffled summation of necessities, the everyday and the specific, mediating between local and global, diverse, colourful and seductive.

Turkish pump room ‘sebil’ from the 16th century in Istanbul (photo: Godfrey Goodwin)

The occupied kiosk in Venice, located at the intersection of Via Garibaldi and Riva dei Sette Martiri.

Model for the kiosk in the Corderie.

Inventory

Inventory of the Republic
of Common Ground

The inventory of the Republic of Common Ground consists of contributions from the Case Studio VOGT and articles by students and friends from the fields of architecture, art and design.

A large part of the kiosk products come from a competition, which was announced at the ETH Zurich, University of Venice, the UDK Berlin and in the offices of Vogt Landscape Architecture Ltd. The aim was to discover an un-common hidden

Venice based on subjective perspectives and to translate this into the language of the kiosk. The item could be freely created using materials and technology.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the items of the Republic of Common Ground at our kiosk in the city on the corner of Via Garibaldi / Riva dei Sette Martiri can be purchased. Payment is by way of participation in our survey. In addition, there is the option of ordering the items here.

Minimum order value 10€.
The buyer bears the full shipping costs.

1
The Compas of Venice
Tom Griffiths
All roads lead to St. Mark’s Square.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

2
Fox Pipe
Leon Eixenberger
A chance to meet the wild side of Venice!
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

10€ – order via mail

3
Greetings from Venice!
Li Xiang
The ubiquitous postcard.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

4
La Serenissima
Scott Lloyd, Sean Blem
Rediscover the old Venice.
Available on the Internet

40€ – order via mail

5
The landscape behind the city
Katja Ries, Claudia Köllner
Leave the city in search of the landscape.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

8€ – order via mail

6
Newspaper ‘Republic of Common Ground’
Case Studio VOGT,
Design Samuel Bänziger
Un-common News of un-common Venice.
Available at the kiosk, on the Internet and at the Biennale

for free – order via mail

7
Common Ground Map
Fabio Bernasconi
Venice under a different light.
Available on the Internet

30€ – order via mail

8
Posters
Case Studio VOGT,
Design Dafi Kühne
Multilingual Common Ground.
You can see them at the Biennale and in the City of Venice - Available on the Internet

350€ – order via mail

9
Map compass
Andreas Boden
An uncommon Way to find your way through Venice.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

10
Upwelling map
Manuel Hitz, Dominik Noli
Venice completed unfurled.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

4€ – order via mail

11
Views of kiosks
Case Studio VOGT
What else is there to say?
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

12
Postcards: Posters - work description
Case Studio VOGT
Choose your language and statement.
Available at the kiosk, on the Internet and at the Biennale

for free – order via mail

13
Venice - the Unattainable
Kathrin Haltiner
So far and yet so close.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

10€ – order via mail

14
Venice in 89 days
Case Studio VOGT
Follow the mental maps of local inhabitants and tourists.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

10€ – order via mail

15
Passport - Citizen of the Common Ground
Lars Müller and
Case Studio VOGT
Become a citizen of the largest state in the world.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

16
Follow me
Eva Willenegger
The devil is in the detail.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

17
Se souvenir, pour revenir - revenir, pour se souvenir
Florian Ringli
Image and construction.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

10€ – order via mail

18
Venice is exhausted.
Simon Kroll, Johannes Heine
Take a seat!
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

8€ – order via mail

19
Get a different impression of Venice.
Sonja Flury
The impressive Take-Away.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

20
El arcumbè fabiògo
Fabio Strub
For hunters and gatherers.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

21
The Stones of Venice
Rebecca Bornhauser
John Ruskin made easy.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

3€ – order via mail

22
Everyvenice
Sandro Murchini
Did you like Venice - then come visit us in Annecy, Stockholm …
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

23
Business cards
Case Studio VOGT
The uncommon way to introduce yourself.
Provided for you

for free – order via mail

24
Homage to Polo
Scott Lloyd, Guillaume
Othenin-Girard
A legend made of silk.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

10€ – order via mail

25
Acqua Alta
Tom Griffiths
So that you’re not up to your neck in water.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

26
Do not feed the pigeons
Tom Griffiths
The secret fast food for pigeons.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

27
Fanding
Agnese Saggia
For a cool head and stomach.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

28
Eau de Toilette
Marc Frochaux
The irresistible fragrance of the lagoon. Für Thomas und andere Männer.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

29
Sea-spray-away
Kathrin Füglister
Spray the sea level of Venice.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

30
Memoria di Venezia - Una Scatola di Impressioni
Hannes Gutberlet
Remember your personal Venice in a playful way.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

5€ – order via mail

31
Free Day Pass to the City of Venice
Berte Daan, Nelly Pilz
Visit the largest museum in Italy!
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

32
An ode to Lodoli
Scott Lloyd, Sean Blem
Views of a Venetian monk.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

not for sale

33
Cyanometer
Macarena Ruiz-Tagle
Determine the skies over Venice.
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

34
Some pigeons are more equal than others
Julius von Bismarck,
Julian Charrière
Pigeons?
Available at the kiosk and on the Internet

2€ – order via mail

Press release

Press Release

Download Press Release
Package in ENGLISH

Download Press Release
Package in GERMAN

Download Press Release
Package in ITALIAN

Download Republic of
Common Ground Newspaper
in ENGLISH

Download Republic of
Common Ground Newspaper
in ITALIAN

Opinion & Debate

09 November

a touching diary...

Comments

11 December— Тодорка}

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14 November— Ryley Russel

Chair

14 November— Peyton Jerde DVM

USB

14 November— Zechariah Gleichner

Awesome Soft Tuna

14 November— Camron Wilderman

optical

14 November— Guido Satterfield

Bedfordshire

14 November— Lauryn Lang

Gorgeous Granite Tuna

14 November— Spencer Medhurst

applications

16 November— Mr. Jeramie Robel

Gorgeous Frozen Table

16 November— Christa King

vertical

16 November— Jovan O'Kon

time-frame

16 November— Donavon Ruecker

Beauty

16 November— Armand Glover

Bike

17 November— Lina Carter

Vision-oriented

17 November— Johan Farrell

Engineer

17 November— Barton Reynolds

Garden

17 November— Name Okuneva

Chicken

17 November— Eugene Hettinger

Unbranded Plastic Gloves

24 November— Mr. Abdul Pacocha

generate

24 November— Cleta Ritchie

ROI

24 November— Gertrude Friesen

teal

24 November— Ella Marquardt

Chips

27 November— Dewitt Zemlak

Kansas

27 November— Trevor Reinger

interface

27 November— Lewis Christiansen

Ergonomic Metal Bacon

27 November— Carleton Towne

Investment Account

29 November— Mrs. Vicenta Wilderman

Gloves

01 December— Dorris Pacocha

Investor

01 December— Daren Kihn

transmit

01 December— Mr. Enoch Heathcote

Gorgeous

05 December— Orland Balistreri

microchip

07 December— Tate Parker

applications

09 December— Adan Crist

Small

10 December— Arlene Stiedemann

Generic

11 December— Orie Anderson

Internal

11 December— Hortense Goldner

Pakistan Rupee

29 August

Kiosk in the city's Common Ground

Occupied kiosk at the corner of Via Garibaldi and Riva dei Sette Martiri - firmly rooted in the common ground of the city. As the smallest building in the city, the kiosk is open to the widest possible section of the general public, and will thereby establish a dialogue between the city and the Biennale, as admission is free to all.