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China Central Television Headquarters, Beijing, by Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren of OMA |
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Paolo Baratta & Rem Koolhaas |
“We are universally recognized as the most important event in the world for Architecture. We are the place where Architecture talks about itself and meets life and society at large. Over the past few years, our choices of curators and themes have been based on the awareness of the gap between the “spectacularization” of architecture on one hand, and the waning capacity of society to express its demands and needs on the other. Architects are called upon prevalently to create awe-inspiring buildings and the “ordinary” is going astray -- toward banality if not squalor: a modernity lived badly. We have made choices oriented towards addressing the issue of this gap.”
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Smithsonian (Tung Walsh) |
"...Koolhaas’ habit of shaking up established conventions has made him one
of the most influential architects of his generation. A disproportionate
number of the profession’s rising stars, including Winy Maas of the
Dutch firm MVRDV and Bjarke Ingels of the Copenhagen-based BIG, did
stints in his office. Architects dig through his books looking for
ideas; students all over the world emulate him. The attraction lies, in
part, in his ability to keep us off balance. Unlike other architects of
his stature, such as Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, who have continued to
refine their singular aesthetic visions over long careers, Koolhaas
works like a conceptual artist—able to draw on a seemingly endless
reservoir of ideas."
Yesterday, January 25, 2013, President Paolo Baratta and Director Rem Koolhass met with the representatives of 40 countries participating in the 14th Exhibition at Ca' Giustinian, Biennale Headquarters, to present the theme: FUNDAMENTALS. Paolo Baratta emphasized: "It is a theme, not a slogan."
Koolhaas has stated:
Koolhaas has stated:
“Fundamentals will be a
Biennale about architecture, not architects. After several Biennales
dedicated to the celebration of the contemporary, Fundamentals
will focus on histories – on the inevitable elements of all architecture
used by any architect, anywhere, anytime (the door, the floor, the
ceiling etc.) and on the evolution of national architectures in the last
100 years. In three complementary manifestations – taking place in the
Central Pavilion, the Arsenale, and the National Pavilions – this
retrospective will generate a fresh understanding of the richness of
architecture’s fundamental repertoire, apparently so exhausted today.
In 1914, it made sense to talk about a
“Chinese” architecture, a “Swiss” architecture, an “Indian”
architecture. One hundred years later, under the influence of wars,
diverse political regimes, different states of development, national and
international architectural movements, individual talents, friendships,
random personal trajectories and technological developments,
architectures that were once specific and local have become
interchangeable and global. National identity has seemingly been
sacrificed to modernity.
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US WWI Poster for saving stamps |
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Italy WWI - Give money to victory, victory is peace Italian Bank Discount |
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Germany WWI - War Bonds help the guardians of your happiness |
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WWI France - So that your children will no longer know the horrors of the war, subscribe to the National Loan |
And yes, Rem Koolhass is totally cool.
From Wikipedia:
Prada, Beverly Hills |
In 2000 Rem Koolhaas won the Pritzker Prize. In 2008 Time put him in their top 100 of The World's Most Influential People.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog