Sejima and Nishizawa's architecture treds lightly on the contradictions of today's reality, free from avant-garde aspirations. Theirs is a practice that dwells in the present and does not have the ambition of creating oppositions. The freshness of her projects is the consequence of this immediateness, of an idea of geometry meant as order among multitude, a comfortable, practical order which, nevertheless, does not bring any metaphysical fund with it. (Stan Allen)

Simplicity as a mental attitude and modus operandi is the fiercely emerging value even from the installation which Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa propose for the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza. No architects have ever before interpreted their relationship with the historical 16th­century building in such a straightforward way. An immense brightly lit white room with transparent fabric walls allows only glimpses of the medieval structure of the 15th century hall. From the elegant Palladian loggias, we are directly led into the space created by SANAA, where pictures and videos are displayed, together with objects which look ambiguous at first glance. It is non easy to tell a model from a piece of furniture right away, or clearly distinguish a building plan from a functional diagram of the activities taking place within.

From the minimalism of their early work, Sejima and Nishizawa's research arrives at dreamy immaterial atmospheres with the aim of reducing the tectonic substance of the buildings as much as possible. The outcome is an architecture made of pillars and thin walls, glass transparencies and blinding lights, vivified and fulfilled by the people circulating around.

Through this exhibition Abaco intends to recognize contemporary architects' research, especially those more sensitive to the social role of architecture in every time: helping man to achieve self-knowledge and self-awareness of time and place. Far too often our society tends to represent itself through architecture espousing redundant values, which border on vulgarity, even with the best intentions. On the contrary, Japanese tradition teaches the importance of speaking in a low voice, or even silence when communicating the most important things.

Silence, simplicity and transparency as opposed to technological „noise“, self-reference, or the need for attention, lead Sejima and Nishizawa against the mainstream. European architecture can reflect upon their example, looking for diverse answers that limit waste, whether it be material or semantic . Sejima and Nishizawa have created a new architecture for a society which is undergoing tremendous change, a society which legitimately aspires to construct its own identity but deliberately renounces cumbersome allegorical apparati and manifests itself in this architecture characterized by a light, nomadic nature.