Archinect - News

The Power of Smallness by Aina Coll Torrent

2018-02-08T00:24:00-05:00

MONU magazine's current issue #27 on "Small Urbanism" shows how small things can have a great impact on city life and planning, exploring themes such as micro-occupations as political protest, urban furniture to recover public spaces and fight criminality, acupunctural interventions for refugee settlements or tiny models used for military strategies.

There are architectural spaces that capture you through their smallest details. Almost five years ago, I visited the Crematorium building by Asplund in the Woodland Cemetery, in Stockholm. After crossing the artificial landscape along a seemingly introverted building, I remember entering a forecourt, grabbing a beautiful door handle and entering a waiting room before reaching the chapel. A wooden bench was softly emerging from the wall, like a curved silk fabric, oriented towards a long window to an enclosed courtyard. The warmth of the space, enhanced by the metaphor of a domestic carpet and the rounding and softness of the corners, was suddenly disturbed by the image of a very small window which was framing very precisely the artificial hills and trees that were guiding the visitor when entering the site. The feeling of connection to an endless outside world condensed in a window was, somehow, sublime.

View through the window at the Woodland Crematorium, by Erik Gunnar Asplund....

"Towards Biology" tells the metaphysical tale of Ricardo Bofill's La Fábrica

2014-11-14T15:51:00-05:00

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura collaborated with Onionlab from Barcelona to create a video-audio installation titled "Towards Biology" as part of the "Time Space Existence" exhibition at the soon-to-conclude Venice Biennale 2014 in Italy.

The exhibition explores going beyond the physical existence of La Fábrica -- the repurposed cement factory in Barcelona that has served as the Taller de Arquitectura's creative headquarters and Ricardo Bofill's private residence since the mid-1970s -- and reimagines it in different contexts, specifically in Venice.

In "Towards Biology", the rotunda-shaped screen draws in viewers to listen and watch a poetic narrative about La Fábrica, which symbolizes the fundamentals of Taller de Arquitectura and the firm's approaches to architecture.

Scroll further down to watch the installation in English or Italian.

Project credits:

Produced by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura and Onionlab
Technical direction: Onionlab
Technical Engineering: Lloc Audiovisu...

Big businesses and baby steps: Weekly News Round-Up for September 22 and 29, 2014

2014-10-06T18:43:00-04:00

Friday, October 3:

Eisenhower Memorial clears key hurdle on Gehry design: In a positive step for the Memorial's Approving Process Odyssey, the National Capital Planning Commission has OK'd the Commission on Fine Arts (the other federal body that must approve the design) to vote on the Memorial.
Where are the women? Measuring progress on gender in architecture: A series of infographics on the representation of women in architectural practice and education, courtesy of ACSA.

Wednesday, October 1:

Guggenheim plans New York expansion… again: Not for more art space (Gehry tried that before) but for offices.
Zaera-Polo steps down as dean of Princeton's School of Architecture: From the press release: "the school's former dean, Professor Stanley T. Allen, will serve as acting dean until a permanent successor is appointed and that Professor Allen will chair the search for the new dean."
Tiny Spanish Island to be First Energy Self-Sufficient Island: The 10,000 population island will use renewable e...

"Hacking" Rem Koolhaas' 2014 Venice Biennale with Project Source Code

2014-09-24T15:33:00-04:00

Hacking an architecture exhibition through augmented reality? Yes, there's an app for that. "Project Source Code" is a digital guerrilla-style exhibition created by architect/artist/researcher Güvenç Özel that lets mobile-device users "hack" key works in Rem Koolhaas' "Elements of Architecture" exhibit currently at the 2014 Venice Biennale. Blending digital and physical space, the project is deemed to be the first to use augmented reality on a live exhibition and also the first time that raw 3D architectural models are treated as exhibition pieces.

Ozel's selection includes 6 pioneering works he directly acquired (with prior approval) from contemporary architects and designers known for their use of digital design techniques. This includes Asymptote Architecture, Greg Lynn FORM, Neil M. Denari Architects, and Oosterhuis_Lénárd.

Ozel fully explains his project in the info he provided below:

PROJECT SOURCE CODE

"In the field of computer science, SOURCE CODE refers to a set of instructions...

Build it and they will come: Princeton architecture at the Venice Biennale

2014-08-04T14:39:00-04:00

This year's Venice Architecture Biennale, an international showcase of trends and research, showcases the work of a number of Princeton faculty and students. It marks the greatest number of invitations Princeton has received to participate in the Biennale, reflecting the University's strength in pioneering research. "Much like other art biennales, its purpose is to present the current panorama of the discipline," said Alejandro Zaera-Polo, dean of Princeton's School of Architecture.

Critical irony in Russia’s special mention “Fair Enough” pavilion in 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-07-18T20:59:00-04:00

The "Fair Enough" exhibition of Russia's 2014 pavilion at the ongoing Venice Biennale gives a clever response to the Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014 theme that Biennale director Rem Koolhaas assigned to curators. Curated and designed by the Strelka Institute, Russia received one of three Special Mentions out of 84 national pavilions during the 2014 Biennale awards ceremony.

"The Russian pavilion's 'Fair Enough' exhibition responds to Koolhaas’ curatorial theme by the concept itself: 20 Russian architectural ideas are presented, using the universal language of the international trade fair...'Fair Enough' is not a fair of products, but an Expo of ideas."

Analyzing modernism with a multi-faceted view in the 2014 Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

2014-06-20T14:09:00-04:00

The Spanish pavilion "Interior" at the 2014 Venice Biennale conveys its multi-layered concept with an enticing labyrinth-like design. Visitors can formulate their own experience as they walk through the open maze, which is "guided" by large images of contemporary and traditional Spanish architecture.

The pavilion is set up as an interactive exploration of Spanish modernism throughout the last century, mixed in with other main points like the influence of digital technology, or comparing traditional Spanish architecture with the contemporary. Sio2 Arch (formerly F451arquitectura) designed the exhibition, which was curated by Iñaki Abalos, Lluis Ortega, Enrique Encabo, and Inmaculada El Maluenda.

More photos and other details on Bustler.

The 2014 U.S. Venice Biennale pavilion reinterprets 100 years of American architecture

2014-06-13T02:30:00-04:00

Styled after American corporate identity throughout the 20th century, our next featured 2014 Venice Biennale pavilion is "OfficeUS" representing the U.S. of A. Organized by NYC's Storefront for Art and Architecture in collaboration with PRAXIS Journal, the two-part exhibition will showcase and critically reinterpret the global influence of American architecture in the last century...For each week of the Biennale, OfficeUS will also address 25 issues relevant to its project archive.

Barkow Leibinger’s “Kinetic Wall” prototype exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2014

2014-06-11T20:37:00-04:00

American/German architectural practice Barkow Leibinger is back at the Venice Biennale with "Kinetic Wall". Specifically designed for this year's Biennale, the prototype highlights the evolution of wall-making while also standing as an ode to the 20th century fantasy of kinetic architecture -- or architecture that can move. Kinetic Wall is currently on display in the Wall Room at the "Elements of Architecture“ exhibition in the Venice Biennale.

Get more details on Bustler.

See it in action in the video below.

François Roche considers Rem's Venice Biennale "Obscene"

2014-06-10T18:10:00-04:00

Obscene was the Venice Biennale of Rem Koolhass On one side the fetishism of the industrial products and components (Italian International Pavilion) and on the other the celebration of the political failure of the world… as a naive agitprop able to wrap the architect with politically correct conscientiousness… self-complaisance for this comfortable dualism.

We are in the pursuit of the diagrammatic hoax he himself promoted 20 years ago, same arrogance of reductionism to avoid embracing and gathering complexity in a productive way, in an aesthetic way, for a critical production, not for a simulation of a critical behavior… sponsored by Rolex.

Korea, Chile, Canada, France and Russia are among the distinguished at the 2014 Venice Biennale award ceremony

2014-06-09T20:10:00-04:00

The 14th International Architecture Exhibition, "Fundamentals" -- a.k.a. the 2014 Venice Biennale -- officially opened on a festive note with the awards ceremony that took place on June 7 at the Giardini at la Biennale.

Awards and Special Mentions were given to national pavilions and individuals to what the Biennale Jury considered to convey the most compelling approaches to the "Fundamentals" theme, which examines how societies worldwide have progressed, adapted to, or even rejected modernism. The theme also highlights countries and regions whose contributions to the global discussion on modernism are typically overlooked.

Below is a list of the winners:

Golden Lion for Best National Participation: Korea - "Crow’s Eye View: The Korean Peninsula"
Commissioner/Curator: Minsuk Cho
Curators: Hyungmin Pai, Changmo Ahn
Deputy Curator: Jihoi Lee
Summary: "The jury wishes to recognize Korea with a Golden Lion for the extraordinary achievement of presenting a new and rich body of knowledge of arch...

Ricardo Bofill’s “Time Space Existence” exhibition on La Fabrica for the 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-06-06T18:54:00-04:00

"Time Space Existence" tells the story behind La Fabrica, the well-known headquarters of Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura that is located in a repurposed cement factory in Barcelona...By reimagining La Fabrica in new locations -- particularly in Venice -- the exhibition serves as a case study that goes beyond the structure's physical presence and explores its timelessness throughout the last century.

As one of the many Collateral Events at the 2014 Venice Biennale, the exhibition opens to the public at The Palazzo Bembo starting June 7 through Nov. 23, 2014.

Check out more details on Bustler.

Rem Koolhaas blows the ceiling off the Venice Architecture Biennale

2014-06-05T13:47:00-04:00

An exploded false ceiling and a lineup of lavatories become the stars as Koolhaas delves into the overlooked innards of today's buildings – and shows how architecture has become nothing more than cardboard

The end of architecture?

2014-06-02T13:21:00-04:00

As the 14th edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture prepares to open, the pavilions of the Giardini might be the perfect venue for an analysis of the architectural manifestations of national identity. [...] Architecture is a curious world in which the things we hate might look very similar, to a less-inured eye, to the things we love. It is a question of degrees, of finesse. Koolhaas exemplifies the paradox.

Montenegro’s Venice Biennale exhibition seeks renewal of the country’s architectural heritage

2014-05-30T17:38:00-04:00

Montenegro's "Treasures in Disguise" exhibition for the 2014 Venice Biennale looks to the country's former Yugoslavic past to provoke discussion of bringing renewal and examining the future possibilities of Montenegran architecture. The exhibition focuses on four historic buildings constructed between 1960 and 1986 that are perceived as cultural models of late modernism architecture. Built with optimistic intentions, the buildings were neglected and have been left to decay ever since.

Check out the projects in their current and original states.

(Pictured above) Dom Revolucije
Architect: Marko Mušić

Kayak Club “Galeb”
Architect: Vukota Tupa Vukotić

Hotel Fjord
Architect: Zlatko Ugljen

Spomen Dom
Architect: Marko Mušić

To learn more, head over to Bustler.

A detailed look at “Grafting Architecture: Catalonia at Venice” for the 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-05-29T12:59:00-04:00

For Catalonia's second year exhibiting at the 2014 Venice Biennale as a Collateral Event, they will showcase the evolving state of local contemporary Catalan architecture in "Grafting Architecture: Catalonia at Venice." The proposal won in a juried competition hosted by the Institut Ramon Llull. The exhibition examines pivotal projects that blend the traditional and the contemporary throughout the last century of Catalonia's architectural history.

Learn more about the exhibition on Bustler.

Adaptation - architecture and change in China

2014-05-29T12:59:00-04:00

EMG set up EMGdotART Foundation [in 2012] – the first art and culture foundation established by a Chinese enterprise, to have a permanent gallery and headquarters in the heart of Venice, Italy.

"More than roofs, doors, courtyards or staircases, adaptation is fundamental for the understanding of Chinese architecture. If the fleeting fascination for fundamentals during the upcoming 14th International Architecture Exhibition [June 7 – 23 November 2014, Venice] will deal and try to understand the basic principles that create architecture; than, ADAPTATION - architecture and change in China《应变——中国的建筑和变化》 focuses on the flexible framework that makes architecture (in China) possible." MovingCities co-curatorial statement

Taking place on the ground floor the historic Palazzo Zen – newly renovated by Chinese architectural studio O-OFFICE – ADAPTATION, architecture and change in China – selected as one of 21 Collateral Events – is curated by Prof. Marino Folin (Rector of the IUAV University (19...

Members appointed for the 2014 Venice Biennale International Architecture Jury

2014-05-28T15:36:00-04:00

The 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale wouldn't be complete without its International Jury. Just recently, the Board of Directors appointed this year's jury members upon the recommendation of Biennale Director Rem Koolhaas.

The 2014 jury features:

Kunlé Adeyemi (Nigeria) is a prominent architect with experience in India, Korea, Africa, and Europe
Francesco Bandarin (Italy) is former director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and now UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture and has been instrumental in developing heritage and preservation strategies worldwide
Bregtje van der Haak (The Netherlands) is a prize-winning documentary maker with a longstanding interest in architecture
Hou Hanru (China) was the co-curator of the Cities on the Move exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in 1999, and following his involvement at the San Francisco Art Institute is now artistic director of Maxxi - National Museum of XXI Century Arts of Rome
Mitra Khoubrou (United Arab Emirates) is director of Dubai-based Pink Tank with extensive involvement in economic and cultural issues throughout the Middle East

The President of the Jury will be nominated during their first meeting.

For more details, head over to Bustler.

Also ch...

The Cyprus 2014 Venice Biennale pavilion seeks the island’s identity through architectural allegory

2014-05-28T13:48:00-04:00

Cyprus took an allegorical approach with their 2014 Venice Biennale pavilion, titled the "Anatomy of the Wallpaper". Curated by architects Michael Hadjistyllis and Stefanos Roimpas, the Wallpaper symbolizes the reconstruction of the island's complex national identity that has been affected by outside influences throughout its history. To convey Cyprus' multi-layered history, the pavilion will be covered in the timeless and appropriate medium of collages.

More details about the pavilion on Bustler.

Details into the Korean Peninsula’s “Crow’s Eye View” pavilion for the 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-05-27T20:29:00-04:00

In the Korean Peninsula's response to the 2014 Venice Biennale theme of rediscovering national identity through architecture, the "Crow's Eye View" pavilion explores the divided state of North and South Korea, and extends that discussion to the global state of architecture itself. The multi-themed pavilion uses architecture as a key to discovering new narratives of the peninsula's complex past, present, and future in an architectural and social perspective.

Find details of the pavilion on Bustler.

Related: A rare look at North Korean architecture, brought to you by non-Koreans

New Zealand exhibition for the 2014 Venice Biennale shows the country’s Pacific architectural roots

2014-05-23T21:07:00-04:00

Our next featured pavilion for the fast-approaching 2014 Venice Biennale hails from Down Under in New Zealand, who will be participating in the keystone event for the first time. Curated by award-winning Auckland architect David Mitchell, the New Zealand exhibition is titled "Last, Loneliest, Loveliest" from Rudyard Kipling's The Song of the Cities poem.

As a response to Biennale Director Rem Koolhaas’s theme, "Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014" that addresses the homogeneity of modernism, the New Zealand exhibition puts the country's distinct architectural scene in the spotlight -- from its traditional yet overlooked Pacific roots to dominant international influences. Below are a few highlights to be showcased.

Read background info on the exhibition on Bustler.

Related:

“Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15” to represent Canadian Pavilion at 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-05-22T19:01:00-04:00

After being selected in a juried national competition back in March, the Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15 exhibition will represent the Canadian Pavilion in the upcoming 2014 Venice Biennale. The timely exhibition will also mark the 15th anniversary of Nunavut, Canada's youngest territory.

Curated by Lateral Office of Toronto, "Arctic Adaptations" will examine the complex relationship that modernism has had with Nunavut's indigenous communities throughout the last century, and the innovative ways they have responded to those changes.

The exhibition will also showcase five themed proposals that explore the various aspects of Nunavut's evolving architectural, social, and cultural landscape. Each design team consists of a Canadian architecture school, a Canadian architecture office with extensive northern experience, and a Nunavut-based organization.

More details on Bustler.

AIRBNB Pavilion coming to Venice Biennale

2014-05-16T13:26:00-04:00

What used to be the fortress of the family and the individual is now a marketable asset in the economy, which leads to wonder whether the online marketplace for short-term lodging hasn't changed the home for good. [...] The AIRBNB Pavilion critically engages with the corporations owning the means of our identity, providing the infrastructure for our everyday lives and redefining the private realm and national borders.

Initiated independently from the Venice Biennale, a concurrent exhibition known as the "AIRBNB Pavilion" will occur in the homes of neighboring Venetians from June 4th to 6th, during the Biennale's opening week. While not apparently affiliated (officially speaking) with Airbnb, the Pavilion means to make explicit the sharing-economy's service as a new interpretation of domestic, private and public spaces, and its irreversible effect on housing and travel within cities.

The exhibition is curated by architects Alessandro Bava, Octave Perrault, Luis Ortega Govela and Fabrizio Ballabio, and will feature art and architectural works in a series of homes. Locations will be announced on June 3.

Russian pavilion commissioner for Venice Biennale fired for criticizing Putin

2014-04-10T17:58:00-04:00

Grigory Revzin, a respected architecture critic, has been fired as the commissioner of the Russian pavilion at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale (7 June-23 November). Writing on Facebook on Monday, Revzin speculated that the cause was his vocal criticism of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In a statement posted on its website, the culture ministry said on Tuesday that he was fired due to his “extremely active” public positions.

Parliament-themed Austrian Pavilion revealed for 2014 Venice Biennale

2014-03-18T19:39:00-04:00

Power to the people is the driving force behind the Austrian Pavilion for the upcoming 2014 Venice Biennale. The pavilion will include an exhibition that explores the concept of parliament and its architectural influence on the world's more than 200 national parliament monuments.

The pavilion was designed by a collective team including Commissioner Dr. Christian Kühn, Harald Trapp, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Auböck + Kárász Landscape Architects, Kollektiv/Rauschen, and the Vienna University of Technology - Institute of Architecture and Design.

Here's a glimpse of the models in the exhibition:

Find out more on Bustler.

Rem Koolhaas's Venice Biennale will 'be about architecture, not architects'

2014-03-12T11:23:00-04:00

Provocative Dutch practitioner finally accepts offer to curate biannual exhibition, declaring it will 'sever all connections with contemporary architecture'

‘Places of Memory' to represent Turkey at Venice architecture exhibition

2014-03-11T14:46:00-04:00

“Places of Memory,” a medley of work by five contemporary artists from Turkey, will make up Turkey's first-ever showcase this summer at the Venice Biennale's prestigious architecture exhibition. [...] Architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the curator of the Turkish pavilion, explained during Monday's news conference that they will be putting on a show delving into three areas of İstanbul: Taksim-Salıpazarı, Bab-ı Ali and Büyükdere Avenue, all of which marked a threshold in Tabanlıoğlu's life.

OMA Trumps Preservationists in Battle to Turn Venetian Palazzo into Department Store

2013-03-20T15:00:00-04:00

Architecture’s favorite black humorist Rem Koolhaas is at it again, off planning a Venice Biennale that stresses the dangers of globalization while battling conservationists for rights to transform a 16th-century Venetian palazzo — which currently serves as a post office — into a retail hotspot. Koolhaas’s firm OMA and its client Benetton recently secured permission to redesign the palazzo into a department store/cultural venue after five years of facing resistance from preservationists.

Rem Koolhaas announces "Fundamentals" to be 2014's Venice Biennale theme

2013-01-25T12:39:00-05:00

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.

It’s official: Rem Koolhaas to curate 2014 Venice Biennale

2013-01-08T13:21:00-05:00

Indicating his ambitions for the next showcase in 2014, Koolhaas said he planned to ‘give a new look’ to architecture’s basic elements ‘to see if we can discover something new about architecture.’ The festival’s board, chaired by Paolo Baratta, formally appointed the star architect to the role today.