The 4th International Architecture Biennale São Paulo was held between November 20 1999 and January 25 2000. The biannual presentation took place in the grand exhibition pavilion designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1951 located in Ibirapuera Park. The biennale, themed ‘Architecture and Citizenship’ was a huge success with over 120,000 visitors.
Under the curatorship of Delft University of Technology Professor Max Risselada and the Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI), the Dutch submission consisted of a triptych approach, capturing three moments in post-war Dutch architecture. In a chronological overview, works by Aldo and Hannie van Eyck (1945-1999), Herman Hertzberger (1960-1999) and Mecanoo (1980-1999) were exhibited.
Mecanoo’s exhibition, dubbed ‘Mecanoo Blue - Composition, Contrast, Complexity’, included models and large format photographs of projects such as the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem, the Faculty of Economics and Management in Utrecht, and the Isala College in Silvolde.
The absolute eye-catcher was the 1:50 cut-away scale model of the Delft University of Technology Library, designed especially for the occasion and built by the Delft Faculty of Architecture. The exhibition was lauded for its original visual presentation and the effective use of models.