14th International Architecture ExhibitionVenice 2014

Rem KoolhaasProposal: May 2013

Central PavilionElements of Architecture

ArsenaleMonditalia

National Pavilions1914–2014

Absorbing Modernity

Fundamentals

xx

Fu

nd

amen

tals

A

rchi

tect

ure,

not

arc

hite

cts.

..

An

umbr

ella

them

e fo

r th

e na

tiona

l pav

ilion

s: fr

om n

atio

nal

to u

nive

rsal

...

The

Ars

enal

e as

per

form

ance

spa

ce...

A n

ew k

ind

of V

enic

e A

rchi

tect

ure

Bie

nnal

e...

T he

2014

Ven

ice

Arc

hite

ctur

e B

ienn

ale

– ca

lled

Fund

amen

tals

– w

ill co

nsis

t of t

hree

mai

n co

mpo

nent

s:

Elem

ents

of A

rchi

tect

ure

– a

rese

arch

-bas

ed e

xhib

ition

in th

e C

entr

al

Pav

ilion

exp

lorin

g th

e of

ten

over

look

ed b

ut u

nive

rsal

ly fa

milia

r ele

men

ts

of a

rchi

tect

ure:

the

floor

, the

doo

r, th

e w

all,

the

ceilin

g, th

e to

ilet..

.

Abs

orbi

ng M

oder

nity

– th

e na

tiona

l pav

ilion

s of

the

Gia

rdin

i and

el

sew

here

will

shar

e a

sing

le th

eme:

sto

ries

of th

eir n

atio

nal a

rchi

tect

ural

fro

m 1

914

till 2

014.

To

enha

nce

the

cohe

renc

e be

twee

n th

e na

tiona

l pr

esen

tatio

ns, f

or th

e fir

st ti

me,

ther

e is

an

invi

tatio

n to

the

pavi

lions

to

com

mun

icat

e w

ith th

e di

rect

or a

bout

the

them

e.

Mon

dita

lia –

pro

vidi

ng th

e st

agin

g in

the

Ars

enal

e fo

r the

firs

t co

llabo

ratio

n be

twee

n th

e A

rchi

tect

ure

and

Dan

ce, T

heat

re, M

usic

B

ienn

ials

and

the

Film

Fes

tival

.

Toge

ther

, the

se e

xhib

ition

s an

d ev

ents

per

form

an

“aud

it” o

f arc

hite

ctur

e,

aski

ng: W

hat d

o w

e ha

ve?

How

did

we

get h

ere?

Wha

t are

our

po

ssib

ilitie

s, a

nd w

here

do

we

go fr

om h

ere?

Rem

Koo

lhaa

sM

ay 2

014

Cen

tral

Pav

ilion

E

lem

ents

of

Arc

hit

ectu

re

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

: Wh

at b

uild

ing

s ar

e (s

till)

mad

e o

f E

xhib

ition

of w

ork

in p

rogr

ess

by H

arva

rd G

SD

stu

dent

s, R

otte

rdam

, N

ovem

ber

2012

.

Cen

tral

Pav

ilion

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

A w

indo

w is

not

a w

indo

w is

not

a w

indo

w a

ny m

ore.

– af

ter

Ger

trud

e S

tein

F

rom

the

Ren

aiss

ance

onw

ards

, the

dis

cour

se o

n ar

chite

ctur

e w

as

larg

ely

base

d on

the

defin

ition

and

ana

lysi

s of

arc

hite

ctur

al

elem

ents

. Alb

erti’

s si

x el

emen

ts (

loca

lity,

are

a, c

ompa

rtiti

on, w

all,

roof

, and

ope

ning

; 145

2), G

ottfr

ied

Sem

per’

s fo

ur e

lem

ents

(he

arth

, ro

of, e

nclo

sure

, mou

nd; 1

851)

and

Le

Cor

busi

er’s

Fiv

e P

oint

s of

A

rchi

tect

ure

(pilo

tis, f

ree

faca

de, o

pen

plan

, lon

g w

indo

w, r

oof g

ar-

den;

192

8) w

ere

all,

in v

aryi

ng d

egre

es, e

ffort

s to

ana

lyse

the

his-

tory

of b

uild

ings

. But

sin

ce th

e gl

obal

izat

ion

of m

oder

n ar

chite

ctur

e in

the

seco

nd h

alf o

f the

20t

h ce

ntur

y, th

e po

ssib

ility

of a

n el

emen

tal

syst

emat

izat

ion

of a

rchi

tect

ure

has

been

larg

ely

igno

red.

“E

lem

ents

of A

rchi

tect

ure”

in th

e C

entr

al P

avili

on w

ill b

e an

atte

mpt

to

trac

e th

e hi

stor

y of

arc

hite

ctur

e’s

univ

ersa

lly r

ecog

niza

ble

– th

ough

infin

itely

var

ied

– ba

sic

elem

ents

. Eac

h ro

om w

ill b

e de

vote

d to

an

indi

vidu

al c

ompo

nent

(st

air,

door

, win

dow

, flo

or, c

orrid

or e

tc.)

.

Ele

men

ts th

at u

sed

to b

e th

e sp

ecia

lity

of a

rchi

tect

s –

the

ceili

ng

and

the

win

dow

, but

als

o ev

en th

e fa

çade

– h

ave

beco

me

devi

ces

and

cede

d to

mor

e ad

vanc

ed te

chno

logi

cal d

omai

ns. B

ut d

espi

te

the

atte

mpt

s of

par

amet

ric a

rchi

tect

ure

to m

erge

form

erly

dis

tinct

ca

tego

ries

like

roof

, wal

l, an

d w

indo

w in

to a

con

tinuo

us a

rchi

tect

ur-

al s

urfa

ce, t

he fu

ndam

enta

l ele

men

ts o

f arc

hite

ctur

e en

dure

, alb

eit

in s

omet

imes

rad

ical

ly d

iffer

ent f

orm

s…

By

look

ing

at th

e ev

olut

ion

of a

rchi

tect

ural

ele

men

ts th

at a

re c

om-

mon

to a

ll cu

lture

s, fu

ndam

enta

ls w

ill a

void

the

Eur

ocen

tris

m th

at

still

cha

ract

eris

es a

rchi

tect

ural

dis

cour

se.

75m

68m

20m

4

EN

VE

LOP

E (F

AÇ

AD

E)

INTE

RIO

R/

PAR

TITI

ON

W

ALL

WIN

DO

W

STA

IRFLO

OR

RO

OF

HE

AR

TH

(CH

IMN

EY

/HE

ATIN

G)

CO

RR

IDO

R

DO

OR

ES

CA

LATO

R/

ELE

VATO

R

CE

ILIN

G

LOB

BY

RA

MP

LIG

HT

BAT

H (T

OIL

ET)

BA

LCO

NY

HIS

TOR

Y

INTR

OD

UC

TIO

N

SC

ALA

TC

LEVA

TOLE

EIL

ING

STO

RY

TTS

TTOTOOOR

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OD

OP

E (F

AÇ

OPPP

OP

(FA

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RTI

TIO

N

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LL

WIN

DO

W

STA

HE

AR

THE

Y/H

EA

EA

EA

EA

EA

EY

/HEE

EY

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Y/HH

(CH

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CCH

IC

HI

OR

RID

OR

ORO

OR

OOO

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LOB

RA

MP

AA

LIG

HT

H (T

OILLIL

((

ALC

ON

Y

N

A

Cen

tral

Pav

ilion

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

Test

for

exhi

btio

n-as

-han

ging

-boo

k,R

otte

rdam

Dec

embe

r, 20

12

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

: Wh

at

bu

ildin

gs

are

(sti

ll) m

ade

of

Res

earc

h by

Har

vard

GS

D s

tude

nts,

R

otte

rdam

, Nov

embe

r 20

12.

Cen

tral

Pav

ilion

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

The

door

in tr

eatis

es: r

evea

ling

the

sign

ifi-

canc

e an

d ar

chite

ctur

al v

aria

tions

of t

he d

oor

acro

ss e

ras

and

regi

ons.

..

Fro

m D

oor:

Str

etch

ed T

hres

hold

, by

Bet

h E

ckel

s in

Ele

men

ts o

f Arc

hite

ctur

e,

Har

vard

GS

D R

otte

rdam

Stu

dio

2012

.

YIN

GZ

AO

FAY

UA

N B

OO

K 2

Chi

nese

trea

tise

1000

A.D

.

Dep

icte

d by

Yao

Che

nzu

follo

win

g th

e W

este

rn p

ract

ice

of a

rchi

tec-

tura

l tre

atis

es o

r bu

ildin

g gu

ides

, writ

ten

in 1

929,

pub

lishe

d in

195

9

(App

r.)

LATE

12t

h - E

AR

LY 1

3th

CE

NTU

RY

Bas

ed o

n S

ansk

rit d

escr

iptio

ns, t

he U

ttung

a to

rana

as

depi

cted

in

The

Tor

ana

In In

dian

And

Sou

thea

st A

sian

Arc

hite

ctur

e by

P

arul

Pan

dya

Dha

r, 20

10

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Fra

ncis

D. K

. Chi

ng, 2

008

“Doo

rs a

nd d

oorw

ays

prov

ide

acce

ss fr

om th

e ou

tsid

e in

to th

e in

terio

r of

a b

uild

ing

as w

ell a

s pa

ssag

e be

twee

n in

terio

r sp

aces

. Doo

rway

s sh

ould

ther

efor

e be

larg

e en

ough

to m

ove

thro

ugh

easi

ly a

nd a

ccom

-m

odat

e th

e m

ovin

g of

furn

ishi

ngs

and

equi

pmen

t. Th

ey s

houl

d be

lo

cate

d so

that

the

patte

rns

of m

ovem

ent t

hey

crea

te b

etw

een

and

with

in s

pace

s ar

e ap

prop

riate

to th

e us

es a

nd a

ctiv

ities

hou

sed

by th

e sp

aces

... F

rom

an

exte

rior

poin

t of v

iew

, doo

rs a

nd w

indo

ws

are

im-

port

ant c

ompo

sitio

nal e

lem

ents

in th

e de

sign

of b

uild

ing

faca

des.

The

m

anne

r in

whi

ch th

ey p

unct

uate

or

divi

de e

xter

ior

wal

l sur

face

s af

fect

s th

e m

assi

ng, v

isua

l wei

ght,

scal

e, a

nd a

rtic

ulat

ion

of th

e bu

ildin

g fo

rm.”

Italy

Seb

astia

no S

erlio

, 155

1

“The

des

ire c

ame

into

my

min

d to

form

in a

vis

ible

des

ign

seve

ral

gate

way

s in

the

Rus

tic s

tyle

s, b

ut w

hich

wer

e m

ixed

with

diff

eren

t O

rder

s, th

at is

, Tus

can,

Dor

ic, I

onic

, Cor

inth

ian

and

Com

posi

te...

And

I ad

vanc

ed s

o fa

r as

to m

ake

a to

tal o

f XX

X, a

lmos

t car

ried

away

by

an a

rchi

tect

ural

fren

zy...

for

the

com

mon

ben

efit

not o

nly

of

this

fine

Kin

gdom

of F

ranc

e...b

ut a

lso

for

the

bene

fit o

f all

inha

bite

d co

untr

ies.

..”

CO

LUM

N

FRIZ

E

CO

RN

ICE

CH

INA

1105

AD

IND

IA12

th C

EN

TUR

YIT

ALY

1551

UN

ITE

D S

TATE

S20

08

ME

TER

S

NL

MA

X. H

EIG

HT

BE

TWE

EN

LA

ND

ING

S:

4 M

(1

3’-

0 1

/8”)

NL

MA

X. S

LOP

E B

EFO

RE

RA

ILIN

G I

S R

EQ

UIR

ED

US

A M

AX.

HE

IGH

T B

ETW

EE

N L

AN

DIN

GS

: 3

.66

M (

12

’-0

”)

IRE

LAN

DU

KN

ETH

ER

LAN

DS

PE

RU

US

AC

HIN

A

Cen

tral

Pav

ilion

Ele

men

ts o

f A

rch

itec

ture

Sta

ircas

e in

Osc

ar N

iem

eyer

’s It

amar

ay P

alac

e, B

rasi

lia, 1

970.

.....

upda

ted

to c

urre

nt s

tand

ards

Fro

m S

tair:

Dan

gero

us a

nd E

ndan

gere

d, b

y Je

nny

Hon

g in

Ele

men

ts o

f Arc

hite

ctur

e, H

arva

rd G

SD

Rot

terd

am

Stu

dio

2012

.In

tern

atio

nal s

tairc

ase

guid

elin

es.

2012

2003

2009

19

97

1952

1952

1953

1956

2000

1984

1932

1932

1962

1960

1952

1939

1995

195620

10

1930

1932

1932

1964

1934

1926

1912

1988

1909 19

58

1958

1922

1954

Con

stru

ctio

n /

last

mod

ifica

tion

of n

atio

nal p

avili

ons

“Abs

orbi

ng M

oder

nity

” is

an

atte

mpt

to m

obili

ze th

e in

divi

dual

hi

stor

ies

of th

e na

tions

rep

rese

nted

at t

he b

ienn

ale

to c

reat

e an

ov

ervi

ew o

f how

, sin

ce 1

914,

the

natio

nal c

hara

cter

istic

s of

eac

h co

untr

y’s

arch

itect

ure

have

see

min

gly

evol

ved

into

a s

ingl

e, g

loba

l ae

sthe

tic.

Und

er th

e in

fluen

ce o

f war

s, d

iver

se p

oliti

cal s

yste

ms,

diff

eren

t st

ates

of d

evel

opm

ent,

natio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal a

rchi

tect

ural

m

ovem

ents

, var

ious

edu

catio

nal p

hilo

soph

ies,

indi

vidu

al

arch

itect

ural

tale

nts,

net

wor

ks, a

nd te

chno

logi

cal d

evel

opm

ents

, ar

chite

ctur

es th

at 1

00 y

ears

ago

wer

e id

entif

iabl

y “F

renc

h” o

r “I

ndia

n” o

r “C

hine

se”

have

bec

ome

seem

ingl

y in

terc

hang

eabl

e.

Nat

iona

l ide

ntity

has

bee

n sa

crifi

ced

to m

oder

nity

.

Eac

h na

tion

will

, in

its o

wn

way

, illu

stra

te h

ow th

eir

coun

try’

s ar

chite

ctur

e ab

sorb

ed m

oder

nity

ove

r th

e la

st 1

00 y

ears

. Is

it st

ill m

eani

ngfu

l to

talk

abo

ut a

Bel

gian

arc

hite

ctur

e, a

Sw

iss

arch

itect

ure,

a B

razi

lian

arch

itect

ure.

..? T

he a

rchi

tect

ure

of th

e pa

vilio

ns th

emse

lves

cou

ld p

lay

a cr

ucia

l rol

e in

eac

h ex

hibi

tion.

Nat

iona

l Pav

ilion

s19

14–2

014:

Ab

sorb

ing

Mo

der

nit

y

IND

ON

ES

IAJA

PA

N

FR

AN

CE

NE

THE

RLA

ND

S

CH

INA

GE

RM

AN

Y

NA

TIO

NA

L P

AV

ILIO

NS

- 1

914

NIG

ER

IA

MID

DLE

EA

ST

SW

ITZ

ER

LAN

DIT

ALY

RU

SS

IA

UN

ITE

D K

ING

DO

M

Wha

t hap

pene

d in

bet

wee

n?W

hat r

emai

ns o

f nat

iona

l sty

les

toda

y?

NA

TIO

NA

L P

AV

ILIO

NS

- 2

014

IND

ON

ES

IAJA

PA

N

FR

AN

CE

NE

THE

RLA

ND

S

CH

INA

GE

RM

AN

Y

NIG

ER

IA

MID

DLE

EA

ST

SW

ITZ

ER

LAN

DIT

ALY

RU

SS

IA

UN

ITE

D K

ING

DO

M

...I b

ehel

d it

mar

vello

usly

dar

k.

As

in th

e A

rsen

al o

f the

Ven

etia

nsB

oils

in th

e w

inte

r th

e te

naci

ous

pitc

hTo

sm

ear

thei

r un

soun

d ve

ssel

s o’

er a

gain

,

For

sail

they

can

not;

and

inst

ead

ther

eof

One

mak

es h

is v

esse

l new

, and

one

rec

aulk

sTh

e rib

s of

that

whi

ch m

any

a vo

yage

has

mad

e;

One

ham

mer

s at

the

prow

, one

at t

he s

tern

,Th

is o

ne m

akes

oar

s, a

nd th

at o

ne c

orda

ge tw

ists

,A

noth

er m

ends

the

mai

nsai

l and

the

miz

zen

Dan

te, T

he In

fern

o, C

anto

xxi

e vi

dila

mira

bilm

ente

osc

ura.

Qua

le n

e l’a

rzan

à de

’ Vin

izia

ni b

olle

l’in

vern

o la

tena

ce p

ece

a r

impa

lmar

e i l

egni

lor

non

sani

,

ché

nav

icar

non

pon

noói

n qu

ella

vec

e10

chi

fa s

uo le

gno

novo

e c

hi r

isto

ppa

le c

oste

a q

uel c

he p

iù v

ïagg

i fec

e;

chi

rib

atte

da

prod

a e

chi d

a po

ppa;

altr

i fa

rem

i e a

ltri v

olge

sar

te;

chi

terz

eruo

lo e

art

imon

rin

topp

aó

Ars

enal

eM

on

dit

alia

Map

of I

talia

n P

enin

sula

from

the

Tabu

la P

eutin

geria

na

(5th

Cen

tury

) su

perim

pose

d on

the

Ars

enal

e (1

106-

)...

Bec

ause

the

leng

th o

f the

Ars

enal

e ty

pica

lly c

reat

es a

seq

uenc

e of

indi

vidu

al e

piso

des

that

typi

cally

do

not c

onne

ct to

form

a s

ingl

e na

rrat

ive,

we

prop

ose

to d

edic

ate

it to

a s

ingl

e th

eme

– th

e st

ate

of

Italy

– a

nd to

mob

ilize

fiel

ds n

ot ty

pica

lly p

rese

nt in

the

arch

itect

ural

bi

enna

le to

rep

rese

nt a

ll as

pect

s of

Eur

ope’

s m

ost c

ruci

al c

ount

ry in

a

form

that

com

es c

lose

to e

nter

tain

men

t, a

Bre

chtia

n re

vue

that

will

ta

ke p

lace

in a

sin

gle

Italy

“se

t,” b

ased

on

the

Cin

ecitt

a tr

aditi

on o

f th

eatr

ical

tran

sfor

mat

ion.

Ars

enal

e Th

e Tr

aum

a o

f It

aly,

or

Exo

du

s R

ever

sed

Ars

enal

e M

on

dlit

alia

Ars

enal

e M

on

dlit

alia

The

Con

sequ

ence

s of

Lov

e, P

aolo

Sor

entin

o

Mar

co P

aolin

i

On

the

Con

cept

of t

he F

ace,

Reg

ardi

ng th

e S

on o

f God

, Rom

eo C

aste

lucc

i

Set

des

ign

by D

ante

Fer

retti

Set

des

ign,

Dan

te F

erre

tti

Par

sifa

l, R

omeo

Cas

telu

cci

Lago

s B

usin

ess

Ang

els,

Rim

ini P

rtok

oll

Ars

enal

e S

po

glit

alia

Zha

n W

ang,

Urb

an L

ands

cape

s,

Alig

hier

o B

oetti

- C

arto

line

Ast

ratte

1987

, MA

DG

RE

Insp

iratio

ns fo

r a

thea

tric

al c

olon

izat

ion

of th

e A

rsen

ale.

..

Ars

enal

e M

on

dlit

alia

Il D

ivo,

Pao

lo S

oren

tino

Dan

te F

erre

tti a

nd P

asol

ini

Vitta

Mia

, Em

ma

Dan

te

Wun

derk

amm

er F

orte

, Ric

ci/F

orte

The

Div

ine

Com

edy,

Soc

ìeta

s R

affa

ello

San

zio

Rob

erto

Sav

iano

Cin

ecitt

a, R

ome

Ser

gio

Sce

na, R

omeo

Cas

telu

cci

Cin

ecitt

a

Bie

nn

ale

as u

rban

sit

e

It w

ould

be

inte

rest

ing

to lo

ok a

t fur

ther

de

velo

pmen

t pot

entia

l for

the

two

bien

-na

le s

ites.

..?

?