What caught the eye of ARCHITECT editor-in-chief Ned Cramer at the Biennale today included Russia's national obession with QR codes, installations by starchitects, a Spanish hanging garden, and Toyo Ito, Hon. AIA, receiving the Golden Lion award as commissioner of the Japanese pavilion. Correspondent Ian Volner caught some of the nightlife—which included a group of British architects doing what, exactly, at 4 a.m.?—recommendations from New York's Storefront for Architecture, and glimpses of the Arsenale from a vaporetto. With the best of show awards announced (including a special mention for the U.S. Pavilion) and the public opening, Wednesday proved an interesting day at the Giardini.