Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon Thursday, February 25 Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon, the co-curators of the US Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, introduce a conversation designed to establish dialogue, discussion, and debate. The exhibition for the US Pavilion, entitled 'The Architectural Imagination,' will speculate possible architecture projects for four sites in Detroit with an eye for application internationally. MOCAD will present 'The Architectural Imagination' in Detroit in 2017. 'The Architectural Imagination' is an exhibition of new speculative architectural projects designed for specific sites in Detroit but with far-reaching applications for cities around the world. It will open to the public in the US Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. The exhibition will emphasize the importance and value of the architectural imagination in shaping forms and spaces into exciting future possibilities. The birthplace of the automobile industry, the free-span factory floor, the concrete paved road, and Motown and techno music, Detroit was once a center of American imagination, not only for the products it made but also for its modern architecture and modern lifestyle, which captivated audiences worldwide. Like many postindustrial cities, Detroit is coping with a changed urban core that for decades has generated much thinking in urban planning. As advocates of the power of architecture to construct culture and catalyze cities, curators Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon have selected twelve visionary American architectural practices to produce new work that demonstrates the creativity and resourcefulness of architecture to address the social and environmental issues of the 21st century. The U.S. Department of State has selected the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan to organize the exhibition of the United States Pavilion in the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale. Cynthia Davidson and Monica Ponce de Leon are Co-Curators of the U.S. Pavilion.

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