Venice Architecture Biennale: twenty architects including Kengo Kuma (above and below), MVRDV, Julien de Smedt and Graft are designing villas for Next-Gene 20 - a residential development on the north-eastern coast of Taiwan.

The project, which involves ten international architects and ten Korean Taiwanese architects, was launched at the Venice Architecture Biennale yesterday. Top two images: Aimai House by Kengo Kuma.

Above and below: Observer by MVRDV.

A video by Squint/Opera introducing all 20 villas can be seen here.

Above and below: Shell Under Copious Rain by Graft.

We'll publish more of the designs over the next few days.

Above and below: The Twirl House by Julien de Smedt.

Here's some info about Next-Gene 20:

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The NEXT-GENE20 is about to turn into reality. The official international presentation ceremony, which will be held in Venice during the 11th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia Out There: Architecture Beyond Building directed by Aaron Betsky, will show the outcomes of the wide program of architectural experimentation coordinated by Yu-Tung Liu. All 20 projects which will soon be realized in the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area in Taiwan will be presented.

The 11th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia will host the exhibition dedicated to NEXT-GENE20 in a collateral event which will be held close to the entrance to the Arsenale (Campo della Tana, Castello 2126/A - commissioner: Paolo De Grandis, Arte
Communications). A text by Aaron Betsky, director of the Venice Architecture Biennale, discloses some thoughts on the project.

As a preview for the press there is a video that will present NEXT-GENE20 to the audience of the Venice Biennale. The video, realized by Squint/Opera in collaboration with iMage, ironically introduces the project borrowing from the language of comic books and presenting the twenty architects as superheroes.

The NEXT-GENE20 project will be officially presented to an international audience during the 11th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia Out There: Architecture Beyond Building directed by Aaron Betsky. All of its protagonists will be present: the initiator of the project Tai-Nien Lu, the coordinator Yu-Tung Liu, the twenty architects. They will celebrate the results of the initiative which is aimed at defining the scenario for the realization of 20 villas in the beautiful Northeast Coast National Scenic Area in Taiwan.

Such a cohesive group participation will once again confirm and acclaim the success of NEXT-GENE20, a project which has already made a name for itself and that will have everyone talk about it still for a long time.

The presence of the project as part of the forthcoming International Exhibition of Architecture at the Venice Biennale is the first and most important occasion to go deeper into the project. From September 14 until November 23, the NEXT-GENE20 exhibition will be in Venice to present the project's results and expectations.

A wide display of drawings, sketches, renderings and models will re-enact, for the audience of the La Biennale di Venezia, the scenario where the construction site of one of the most lively architectural projects in recent times will soon start.

The houses designed by the 20 invited architects (10 international, 10 from Taiwan) will be presented. Zaha Hadid has also been invited to contribute to the NEXT-GENE20 project by designing a residence ("Symbiotic Villa") and a building for public use ("Next-Gene Architecture Museum.").