Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: an "unbreakable glass ceiling" is pushing talented architects out of Sweden and Norway, according to this year's curators of the Nordic Pavilion in Venice (+ slideshow).
According to David Basulto and James Taylor-Foster, the architectural heritage of these two countries is constraining the newest generation of designers.
They claim that 20th-century architects such as Gunnar Asplund, Sverre Fehn and Alvar Aalto have created such an established Nordic aesthetic that young architects are struggling to establish their own identities. Many are instead choosing to leave their home countries and work abroad.
David Basulto and James Taylor-Foster have curated the Biennale exhibition inside the Nordic Pavilion, which was designed by Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn in 1959 Nordic architecture is "on the verge of stagnation", Basulto told Dezeen during a press tour of the Nordic Pavilion, which opened a fortnight ago as part of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016.
"The weight and gravity of certain figures create an idea of what Nordic architecture is, which is quite stifling," added Taylor-Foster. "You see it in education and you see it in practice."
The pair claim that Nordic architecture is "on the verge of stagnation", because young architects are struggling to establish their own identities
"It's an unbreakable glass ceiling, and what you eventually find at the end of the day is t...