En: Art of Nexus

Like much in Japan in the last five years, the theme of the pavilion has echoes of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred March 11, 2011. According to curator Yoshiyuki Yamana, that event provides an "additional sense of loss" over the assertion that "the notion of a happy family life in the city, created by the modern state, has collapsed." In turn, the exhibition focuses on altering the state of society by looking at the en: "connections, relation, ties, chance, edge, fringe, rim."

The pavilion, which received a special mention award at the opening of the Biennale, presents a dozen projects through models, drawings, photographs and films. Most appealing are the models, which range in scale from site models to large-scale construction details, with most falling in between, like large doll houses with furnishings provided. One notable example is the Yokohama Apartment by Osamu Nishida (On Design Partners) + Erika Nakagawa; the model sitting on the floor accentuates the semi-public courtyard that is found below the four apartments.

As described by the curator in the video at bottom, the term en comes from engawa, the outdoor space of a traditional Japanese house where the family would meet visitors. While the 12 projects on display in the pavilion illustrate contemporary reinterpretations of the engawa, interestingly the Japanese Pavilion (designed by Takamasa Yoshizaka and built in 1956) in the Giardini is an illustration of the same. An open space below the pavilion mediates between the outdoor space of the Giardini and the interior realm of the pavilion; an opening in the floor of the pavilion accentuates the relationship between these two spaces.