Wang Qiheng

　　One of the central tenants of fengshui is the importance of the axis, the core of any given physical structure. The Italian pavilion occupies the longest central axis of all national pavilions. This axis extends to the sea to the south, and could have formed a very balanced view between Venice and the surrounding islands. However, the orientation of the pavilion does not consider this. According to fengshui theory, one should shift the axis slightly toward the west, which would open the pavilion toward the sea, also the energy channel. Or, the axis could shift toward the east to include the small island as the distant visual focal point. Finally, the main Biennale signage currently blocks the energy channel of the middle axis. This conflict can be remedied by moving the signage away from the axis about three meters.

　　The pavilion of the three Nordic countries has an open design that respects ecology and man, and promotes great openness. However, the outer wall should maintain its transparency with glass. Otherwise, the four solid walls currently enclosing the trees in the middle, pictorially and literally, indicate besiegement, in Chinese character.

　　The Netherlands' pavilion and the Belgian pavilion are well designed. These two pavilions both slant slightly from the axis of the entrance, opening up an area through which positive aura, known as the channel of energy, can flow. As a result, they satisfy the principles of receiving, and accumulation, welcoming and riding along the flow of positive energy.

　　Despite all of these good qualities, the national pavilion complex as a whole has many problems and contradictions. The most prominent of these deficiencies is the lack of dialogue between the national pavilions at the Biennale and their surrounding physical environment, a dynamic that is extremely important to fengshui.

　　Principle of fengshui especially honors water, as it resembles blood and is the essential life force. Blockage, a central concept in fengshui, is the result of this very absence of dialogue between structures and their environments. For instance, the Giardini is surrounded by the sea and the canals, but almost all of the pavilions have thick walls preventing any engagement with the environment. The architects of the Canadian pavilion, which is sandwiched between the German and French pavilions, could have built a terrace with a great view of the water. Yet it is completely blocked. The Australian, Belgian, Hungarian, French, German, and Italian pavilions all have this problem as well. They are closed by thick walls and have only one exit. This lack of exchange with the environment has the potential to repel and renders the architecture cold and detached. The most flagrant blockage is the Brazilian pavilion, which blocks the entrance of the Venice pavilion and wrecks the symbiosis between the Austrian, Egyptian, Polish, Bulgarian, Former Yugoslavian, and Greek pavilions. This area of the Giardini exudes weakness and decline.