11th International Architecture Exhibition

The 11th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2008 Venice Biennale of Architecture, Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, was held at the Arsenale and Giardini exhibition venues. It took place from September 14 to Sunday, November 23, 2008, and was directed by Aaron Betsky.

Awards

The recipients of the prestigious Lion Awards were:

• Golden Lion - Best National Participation: Nicolas Grospierre and Kobas Laksa of the Polish pavilion with Hotel Polonia - The afterlife of buildings, a witty and polemic vision of the probable future of buildings
• Golden Lion - Best Installation Project: Greg Lynn for his experimental recycled-toys furniture that according to the jury "best embodied the Biennale theme."
• Silver Lion for a Promising Young Architect: Elemental of Chile for the expert architectural intelligence applied to the context of low cost housing.
• Special Golden Lion for lifetime achievement: James S. Ackerman, the first historian of Architecture to receive this award.

National pavilions and curators

• Germany: Updating Germany - 100 Projects for a Better Future. Curated by Friedrich von Borries and Matthias Böttger

• United States: Into the Open: Positioning Practice: 16 architectural groups focus on the increasing interest in civic engagement in American architectural practice, and examines the means by which a new generation is reclaiming a role in shaping community and the built environment. Curated by William Menking, Aaron Levy, and Andrew Sturm.