Koolhaas's 'Elements of Architecture' at 2014 Venice Biennale
In 2014, Rem Koolhaas led the Venice Architecture Biennale, named 'Fundamentals.' The main show, 'Elements of Architecture,' was set up in the Central Pavilion. Collaborating with the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Koolhaas examined architecture through fifteen key elements, including the floor, door, wall, ceiling, and more. Each element had its own section, displaying its historical background. He criticized the overwhelming regulations in current architecture, using examples like a fake ceiling and a compliant stair model. On a brighter note, he highlighted the elevator’s roots in ancient Greece and the cab from the 2010 Copiapó mine rescue. Koolhaas also acknowledged figures like Claude Parent and Charles Brooking, calling the exhibition an 'audit' of architecture.
Key facts
- Rem Koolhaas directed the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014.
- The main exhibition 'Elements of Architecture' was a two-year research project with Harvard Graduate School of Design.
- Fifteen architectural elements were explored: floor, door, wall, ceiling, toilet, façade, balcony, window, corridor, fireplace, roof, stair, elevator, ramp, and escalator.
- The exhibition included a library of historical texts by Vitruvius, Alberti, Semper, and others.
- A fifteenth-century Austrian castle's fourteen-door security system was compared to modern airport security.
- A false ceiling was hung beneath Galileo Chini's dome, revealing a void of service ducts.
- Friedrich Mielke's archive of stair studies was displayed alongside a mock-up of a regulation-compliant stair.
- The elevator's origins were traced to ancient Greek mines, and the Copiapó mine rescue cab was exhibited.
- Claude Parent's house with steep ramps was reconstructed.
- William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck's underground passage network at Welbeck Abbey was documented.
- Charles Brooking's collection of over 500,000 windows was included.
- The exhibition ran from 7 June to 23 November 2014 in Venice.
Entities
Artists
- Rem Koolhaas
- Alison Crawshaw
- Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
- Leon Battista Alberti
- Yingzao Fashi
- Gottfried Semper
- Eugène Emmanuel Viollet Le Duc
- Galileo Chini
- Friedrich Mielke
- Claude Parent
- William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck
- Charles Brooking
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
Institutions
- Venice Architecture Biennale
- Harvard Graduate School of Design
- OMA
- Prada
- Serpentine Gallery
- Afterall
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- SoHo
- Zollfeld Valley
- Austria
- Neuilly-sur-Seine
- France
- Welbeck Abbey
- United Kingdom
- Copiapó
- Chile
- Manhattan
- London
Sources
- Afterall —