(Venice, Italy) Rem Koolhaas, the dynamic Director of
the 14th International Architecture Exhibition has come up with a
scheme to rattle architecture on a global scale by going back to the
fundamentals, the theme of the 2014 program, and a subject that Paolo
Baratta, the President of La Biennale, is passionate about. With
esteemed Rolex as the exclusive partner, and a list of prestigious
donors, this year's exhibition promises to be exciting, educational and
innovative on a premier level.
Yesterday, March 10th,
more details about the project were presented in a conference held in
the elegant Sala delle Colonne at Ca' Giustinian, La Biennale
headquaters. Koolhaas said that when he was approached to head the
exhibition, he would do it under two conditions: first, he wanted to
take more time, and second, he wanted it to be based on research, rather
than display.
His wishes were granted. This year,
instead of opening at the end of August or in September, the
Architecture Exhibition will open on June 7th (previews June 5 &
6) and run through November 23, 2014. There will be 65 nations
participating, 11 countries for the first time. Normally, the curator
decides a theme and creates "his own" exhibition, leaving the individual
nations to follow his lead or not. This year, a specific topic --
Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014 -- has been offered to all of them.
Koolhaas states: "
Fundamentals consists of three interlocking exhibitions -
Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014,
Elements of Architecture and
Monditalia - that
together illuminate the past, present and future of our discipline.
After several architecture Biennales dedicated to the celebration of the
contemporary,
Fundamentals will look at histories, attempt to
reconstruct how architecture finds itself in its current situation, and
speculate on its future." It sounds like an enormous lesson for all of
us, not only architects, about how the planet arrived at its present
state, and what the outlook is for the future.
 |
| In 1914 -Photo: courtesy La Biennale |
In
Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014, the 65
different nations contribute to tell a single story about architecture
in the last century. Koolhaas asked: "Is the lens of a nation-state
appropriate?" His research showed an enormous and critical relationship
between architecture and the turbulence of history, wars and politics,
and that most nations have abandoned their national identity. Each
country is invited to show, in their own way, the process of the erasure
of national characteristics in architecture in favor of the almost
universal adoption of a single modern language.
 |
| In 2014 -Photo: courtesy La Biennale |
Here are the titles of the offerings by the nations of the G8:
CANADA -
Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15
FRANCE -
Modernity: promise or menace?
GERMANY -
Bungalow Germania
GREAT BRITAIN -
A Clockwork Jerusalem
ITALY - (details below)
JAPAN -
In the real world
RUSSIA -
Fair Enough
USA - OFFICE
US
 |
Stair - Models at the Friedrich Mielke Institute of
Scalology
|
The
Elements of Architecture will be in the
Central Pavilion, and will pay close attention to the fundamentals of
our buildings, used by any architect, anywhere, anytime: the floor,
wall, ceiling, roof, door, window, façade, corridor, fireplace, toilet,
stairs, escalator, elevator, ramp... the balcony... Koolhaas said
history would be entirely different if not for balconies, and he became
fascinated about how people use them. (I could offer my own input about
the creative use of balconies...) He hopes the public will be drawn by
the topic. For instance, he learned that during the last fifteen years
the elements have become more comfortable. We are not as robust, and
steps have become flatter. Windows used to have aesthetic value, now
they are all the same.
President Baratta said, "With great courage and
ambition, after having traced the history of modernity over the past 100
years to the present, [Koolhaas] identifies and presents the elements
that should act as references for a generated relationship between us
and architecture."
 |
| Corderie Map - Arsenale |
Monditalia will be dedicated to Italy, which
is emblematic for what is happening in the world, and it will take over
the enormous Corderie inside Arsenale, where Venice once made its naval
rope. We will look at Italy as a "fundamental" country, completely
unique but showing certain features -- particularly the coexistence of
immense riches, creativity, competences and potential, combined with
political turbulence -- that also make it a prototype of the current
moment. Koolhaas said that Italy suffers from a "narcissism of difficulty," and that it believes everything is more difficult in Italy than anywhere else, which is not true. From south to north, all of Italy will be examined. In addition,
all the other festivals of La Biennale will be involved -- Film, Dance,
Music, Theater -- to collectively represent a comprehensive portrait of
the host country.
Arnaud
Boetsch from Rolex announced the major new partnership, becoming
exclusive Partner and Official Timepiece of "the world's premier
architectural forum." The sponsorship will run over the next three
editions of the Biennale Architettura, from 2014 to 2018. Boetsch said,
"Rolex is immensely proud to be lead sponsor of the Biennale
Architettura. This reflects the brand's long-standing commitment to
world-class architecture.Whether it is through the architecture of our
own buildings or supporting the work of great architects, Rolex will
continue its dedication to technological and aesthetic innovation -- a
clear refection of the spirit that guides our approach to our watches."
Koolhaas writes:
Architecture, not architects...
An umbrella theme for the national pavilions from national to universal...
The Arsenale as performance space...
For more information, please go to
La Biennale.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
Rem Koolhaas, the dynamic Director of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition has come up with a scheme to rattle architecture on a global scale by going back to the fundamentals, the theme of the 2014 program, and a subject that Paolo Baratta, the President of La Biennale, is passionate about. With esteemed Rolex as the exclusive partner, and a list of prestigious donors, this year's exhibition promises to be exciting, educational and innovative on a premier level.
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