Rem Koolhaas Curates 14th Venice Architecture Biennale with 'Fundamentals' Theme Exploring Modernity's Impact

Key facts

• The 14th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale was titled 'Fundamentals' and curated by Rem Koolhaas.
• It ran from June 7 to November 23, 2014, lasting nearly six months instead of the usual three.
• The exhibition had three parts: 'Monditalia,' 'Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014,' and 'Elements of Architecture.'
• For 'Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014,' nations presented how modernity impacted them over 100 years, with Koolhaas comparing it to a boxer absorbing a blow.
• Kosovo's pavilion, 'Visibility (Imposed Modernity),' featured a tower of 700 wooden stools and postcards of architectural drawings from Kosovo's history.
• Russia's 'Fair Enough' pavilion presented modernism as a futuristic trade show with twenty fictional companies.
• Serbia's '14-14' exhibition included plans of 100 buildings and focused on an unrealized 1961 project by Vjenceslav Richter in Belgrade.
• Romania's 'Site Under Construction' pavilion examined industrial ruins from over 1,000 factories closed after 1989, with case studies on Bucharest, Brasov, and Reșița.