Venice is a city that resists the contemporary. New architecture tends to be discreetly inserted behind the facades of historic structures, as in recent interventions designed by Tadao Ando or Annabelle Selldorf. So the contrast between the historic city and the contemporary architecture that typically fills the Venice Architecture Biennale is particularly acute.
This year, however, the Biennale, called Fundamentals, is looking back, not forward, if only back over 100 years. With Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas as ringmaster, the main theme is Absorbing Modernity: 1914–2014. His brief to each of the 65 participating countries was to create an exhibition that reflected the impact of modernity on the century since World War I upended the old order. In more ways than one, it's a retro concept, which, as one of his former acolytes remarked, “only Rem could get away with.”
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.