Malkit Shoshan is the curator of the Dutch Pavilion and she is an important architect and researcher whose study on architecture in war zones is directly related to the general theme of the 2016 Biennial, Reporting from the Front. In her research, Malkit Shoshan has focused on the innovative way in which the Netherlands is contributing to UN peacekeeping missions. In addition to defence, diplomacy and development, Shoshan proposes to add a fourth criterion for the realization of innovative base camps: design.
The Dutch pavilion’s proposal is built around the Camp Castor case study in Gao, Mali, where the United Nations is engaged in a peace mission. The colour blue is meant as a metaphor for conflict and combines architecture and human rights. BLUE presents a series of new stories for architecture in areas of conflict, whose focal point is the potential for improving the lives of millions of people.