VENICE—Curator Aaron Betsky’s vision for this year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture is clear; he even put it in the title, "Out There: Architecture Beyond Building." This edict to think outside the usual architectural box seemed to serve as permission for most participants to investigate the far recesses of their imaginations, and the result is a biennial full of highly conceptual installations and curated pavilions — a marked contrast to the 2006 edition, which, organized by Ricky Burdett, tackled the far more pragmatic issue of building design’s role in social politics. Though Betsky’s curatorial control is limited to the main exhibition in the Arsenale, the curators of the national pavilions (who, according to the rules, must be from the country they are representing) also took on the theme with relish.

ARTINFO presents the top five architectural tribes on display at this year's biennale, which opened September 14 and runs through November 23.

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