ARCHIPHOENIX FACULTIES FOR ARCHITECTURE

SPEED DATE MARATHON
Adopt a faculty for architecture – 25 speakers interviewed.

Contributors: Andre Dekker (Observatorium), Piet Vollaard (ArchiNed), Jeroen van Schooten (Meyer&VanSchooten), Gian Piero Frassinelli (Superstudio), Robert Winkel (Mei Architecten), Elma van Boxtel & Kristian Koreman (ZUS), Ivan Kucina (Faculty of Architecture Belgrade), Aleksandar Ostan (Open Circle), Håkon Matre Aasarød & Erlend Blakstad Haffner (Fantastic Norway), Malkit Shoshan (FAST), Lidewij Edelkoort (Design Academy Eindhoven), Matthijs Bouw (One Architecture), Allard Jolles (Dutch Government Buildings Agency), Lauren Gutierrez & Valérie Portefaix (MAP office), Ton Venhoeven (VenhoevenCS), Remy Ramaekers (Droog Design), Shumon Basar (Architectural Association, Tank Magazine), Cecilia Andersson (Werk), Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss (Normal Architecture Office), Peter Mörtenböck & Helge Mooshammer (Networked Cultures), Ole Bouwman (NAi), Mark Wigley (Columbia University), Tor Lindstrand & Mårten Spångberg (International Festival), Winy Maas (MVRDV), John Thackara (Doors of Perception) and Mels Crouwel (Benthem & Crouwel)
In conversation with: Jord den Hollander, architect and filmmaker, Amsterdam

ARCHIPHOENIX – Faculties for Architecture has turned the Dutch Pavilion, at this year’s Architecture Biennale in Venice, into a weeklong stage for research and exploration and a debate platform focussing on the capacities and capabilities of architecture – beyond building. ARCHIPHOENIX takes the recent burning-down of the Faculty of Architecture in Delft as starting point for an exploration of what values to defend, what territories to explore and what practices to develop as an architect. The fire seems to open a new era, it gives the architecture community a chance to reposition itself and the opportunity to question whether thinking in terms of buildings is the solution to the issues and demands that we face in the near future. In short: the faculties for architecture, in the sense of its multiple capacities, powers, capabilities. A question mark rather than an exclamation mark.

While on the one hand, global pressures – massive population growth, economic instabilities, limits of the resources available, just to name a few – urge architects to radically reconsider their tools, products and models of working, a growing number of practices already showcase possible directions. How could they be made to work – on a scale that answers the challenges ahead?

The project focuses on five questions each architect encounters: WHY WE MAKE – beyond the profitable simplicity into the social sustainability, WHAT WE MAKE – beyond the artifact, HOW WE WORK – beyond the singular into the collaborative, FOR WHOM WE MAKE – beyond power to empowerment, and finally WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE (AND UN-MAKE) – beyond the sustainable: challenging the flow of resources, materials and people. These five seemingly simple, yet essential questions, if put to face challenges ahead become serious issues for discussion.

From 9-14 September, during the Biennale opening days, the project has taken the opportunity to engage the vast network of architects and other professionals present in a direct exchange either as speakers, interviewers, moderators. To make it all happen a number of active and engaged people joined in a role of editors in this collaborative effort, to produce the six ‘boogazines’ made on-site. The spatial setting itself has been changing on a daily basis to accommodate dinner, round tables, speed dates, lectures, workshop, and an on-site instantly edited video and book production unit. While the pavilion has been acting as a temporary ‘school’, the produced content aims to become an imaginary curriculum for architecture beyond division on education and practice. The results of this dense process are on show in the Dutch Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale in Venice, until 23 November 2008.

La Biennale di Venezia