The balloon-frame construction system was developed in the United States in the 1830s. Widely used in residential and other small-scale construction for a century, it was replaced by platform framing, which allowed for the use of smaller wood studs. Both systems rely on readily available timber elements.Courtesy Library of Congress, prints and photographs division. Farm security administration/office of war information black and white negatives
Kate Wagner spoke with the curators of the U.S. Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale about broader issues of labor, democracy, and suburbia.
Editor’s note: As of early March, The 17th International Architecture Exhibition has been postponed and rescheduled to run from August 29 to November 2020.
On the face of it, the theme of the U.S. Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale seems like a safe choice. It’s true that “American Framing” foregrounds the wood-framing construction system that has held sway in this country for nearly two centuries. But the exhibition’s curators, Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner, also promise to explore aspects of the system other than its material attributes. Kate Wagner, the founder of the project McMansion Hell, spoke with the pair about broader issues of labor, democracy, and suburbia.