By performing an autopsy, I have analysed the organs of Venice, its architectonic elements, one by one.īy adopting this approach, even in the Doge’s Chapel we can find and analyse individually the elements proposed in Rem Koolhaas’ research on Elements of Architecture: roof (domes), ceiling (vaults and mosaics), corridor (matronea), balcony (the tribune on the narthex and the ambo), wall (iconostasis), stairs, façade, windows, and doors. Instead of following a Darwinian approach, revealing the linear evolution of the architectural “species”, I have concentrated on studying the corpus architecturae. But the focus of this book is to look at individual architectonic elements, not at buildings, searching for those clues that allow us to retrace, beyond formal consideration, the ideological, cultural, and political background of the historical context that informed their definition. It is therefore possible to reveal this metamorphous process by following a chronological and linear path. Everything has been in constant transformation for centuries. Others were embellished with ornamentation and clad in stone, breaking the centuries-old tradition of the laws of Daulus and ruling out a transformation similar to that cited by Emperor Augustus Octavian in 20 BC, who claimed to have “found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble”. Buildings were demolished and rebuilt to reflect the dictates of new architectural languages. Key urban areas were planned, built, razed to the ground and rebuilt to ensure that the image projected by the Republic reflected the political strategy of its ruling class. The boundaries expanded through successive land reclamation projects (often contracted by the Republic to religious orders that wanted to settle in the Serenissima). Its transformations are far-reaching and rooted in cultural and political thought. In her history, Venice has never been a “museum-city” as it is often described. Save this picture! Courtesy of Lars Müller Publishers With Elements of Venice, this radical and thought-provoking book, Giulia demonstrates that Venice has been a city in perpetual transformation and, in the centuries of its splendour, at the forefront of modernity.įROM THE INTRODUCTION: Dissecting the Building. Elements of Venice. The history of an entire city has never been analysed at the scale of architectural detail before, but this is what Giulia has done in the case of Venice: a city so rich in unique masterpieces that it seems futile to search for common patterns.īy looking through a microscope, Giulia demystifies the perception of Venice as a static entity providing (also visual) evidence of key moments of its metamorphosis while offering an interpretation of architectural elements as products of cultural and political shifts rather than just formal experimentation. Her focus on specific elements rather than individual architectures or architects exposes differences and contrasts in a sharper way than a typical global overview would yield. She has produced an entirely unprecedented work that turns out to be more profound than the traditional architectural historian’s comprehensive perspective. Giulia is presenting the results of that approach in this brilliant book. Because of her Venetian background, it seemed compelling to undertake an original experiment: to look at Venice, a very complex architectural and historical subject, through the lens of its smallest components. Giulia Foscari has been a crucial part of the team that organised Elements of Architecture. Our research uncovers not a single, unified history of architecture, but the multiple histories, origins, contaminations, similarities, and differences of these elements and how they evolved into their current iterations through technological advances, regulatory requirements, and new digital regimes. Sustainability and Performance in ArchitectureĪrchitecture is both ancient and modern, each work an amalgamation of elements that have been around for over 5,000 years and others that were invented yesterday.Įlements of Architecture, an exhibition developed as part of the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale, presents micronarratives revealed by focusing systematically on the fundamentals of our buildings: the floor, the wall, the ceiling, the roof, the door, the window, the façade, the balcony, the corridor, the fireplace, the toilet, the stair, the escalator, the elevator, the ramp. The Future of Architectural Visualization
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