Voice of Commons unveiled

For our 10th episode, Voice of Commons responds to questions from our listeners about the origins of the project and UNLESS. We share a special live conversation held during the vernissage of the Venice Biennale between architects Giulia Foscari and Eva Franch i Gilabert. The dialogue frames the urgency, structure, and ambition of Voice of Commons and explores the project’s multi-scalar planetary mobilisation from high-level advocacy to grassroots participation. They also reflect on the transformation of Scarpa’s 1952 Biennale ticket office into the Planetary Embassy – a space of democratic in-betweenness broadcasting voices from Indigenous communities and the more-than-human world. From political imagination to spatial activism, the dialogue traces how Voice of Commons amplifies unheard voices and catalyzes systemic change. 

Giulia Foscari is an architect, curator and activist who practised in Asia, the Americas and Europe. She is the founder of UNA/UNLESS. UNLESS is a nonprofit agency for change advocating for the Global Commons; UNA is an international architecture practice. Her work with UNLESS includes Antarctic Resolution, recipient of multiple awards including the European Commission’s S+T+ARTS Grand Prize. With UNLESS, she launched Voice of Commons as a Special Project of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. Giulia has taught at the University of Hong Kong and the Architectural Association in London. She is the author of Elements of Venice and editor of Antarctic Resolution (both Lars Müller Publishers). She previously worked with Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, and serves on several boards including ASOC. She was born at 338 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Eva Franch i Gilabert is an architect, curator, educator, and researcher, widely known for her radical and visionary approach to architecture, cultural institutions, and public engagement. She is the co-founder of FAST - a new platform for investigation and research in art, architecture and technology; she is also professor at UMPRUM and co-founder of MODEL, Barcelona’s forward-thinking Architecture Festival. She previously served as Director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and as Chief Curator at Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York City. Her diverse practice spans exhibitions, theoretical manifestos and public lectures that challenge entrenched boundaries of design, governance, and spatial politics. Eva is a member of the Voice of Commons Advisory Council. She was born at 335 parts per million carbon dioxide in the Atmosphere.

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