Made in Europe

About the archive, the data, and the construction of history.
We name the physical presence of history the archive: the solidifi cation of time. But the archive as data not yet subdued to any kind of temporal order is just a compilation of works, made from documents. In this sense, the raw archive has the potential of plural readings, and different histories are made possible, as are different questions and theses.

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the European Commission has been organizing the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award since 1988. In 2013 the prize celebrated its 25th anniversary, creating the biggest archive of Contemporary Architecture in Europe, having collected more than 2,500 projects and 230 models.

The origin of this archive, the “Zero Document,” is Barcelona’s Pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929, demolished at the end of the International Exhibition. It was in 1986 that the Pavilion was reconstructed, this construction being a document itself, a reproduction. In the same way the data in the archive are documents and reproductions, having them as starting point we can develop many lectures and interpretations from the raw archive. We can ask whatever we want, and look back and analyse the last 25 years in Europe or look forward and theorize about the future of architecture.

symposium exhibition archive
According to the thesis of this edition of La Biennale, the absorption of the modern language of architecture during the last century has erased the singularities of each European nation’s architecture, so in a Europe without inner boundaries since 1995 (by the opening of the Schengen Area) can we still talk about a national architecture? Moreover, is there a “European-ness” in architecture? Is there a distinguishing feature in European architecture beyond the fact that they are “Made in Europe”?

Beyond “Made in Europe”
The urban experience of the European city defi nes a unique way of understanding architecture that characterizes the architectonic production of Europe.
We are currently in paradigm shift, from national identities to urban identities. Even if the national frontiers and boundaries are fading, there remains an identity of each city. Europe is mainly urban and the condition of the European city is related to a stratifi cation of architectures, functions and events that, like a palimpsest, conforms a compact and complex understanding of the urban experience.
Since before the opening of the Schengen Area we were able to talk about the different schools of architecture: Porto, Barcelona, Ticino, etc. and the fi rst Mies van der Rohe awards show us a direct relationship between city, architect, and work.
Today, the architects move in a boundary-less European territory, jumping from city to city, and helping spread a supposedly homogenous language. Koolhaas himself was one of the forerunners in this new view of the architectonic idiom with the triumph of the School of Delft. Since then, a new vocabulary appeared leaving behind function, machine, place/tradition and moving towards hybrid, complexity, flux, and density. In the same sense we understand the complexity of Europe as a common ground where cities act as nodes of identity.

The installation: oh so much data!
The exhibition “Made in Europe” aims to show the importance of the last 25 years of architecture in Europe based on the data from the archive gathered by the Fundació Mies Van der Rohe.
The installation presents a selection of 193 models and a visualization of the 2500 proposals that conform the 25 years of awards, representing a curate selection of the best works of architecture. The concept pretends to emphasize the number, quantity and quality of the overwhelming data. Playing with the idea that the data, not subdued to the construction of the historical discourse, is free for any kind of reading or elaboration. The visitors, according to their choices and movements, can make their own readings and interpretations. In the meanwhile, we will show the existence of “European-ness” in architecture as our starting point of discussion: the urban reality of Europe creates a unique way of understanding architecture, which upholds different identities and realities, but no matter how diverse, they are all purely European.

Symposium
“European-ness porosity”

Europe is currently experiencing a paradigm shift from national to urban identities. As the boundaries within Europe are fading, each city claims to have its own identity. Europe is mainly urban, and the condition of the European city is related to a stratifi cation of architectures, functions and events that, like a palimpsest, conforms a compact and complex understanding of the urban experience, with architectonic heritage, industrial development, social housing, archeological sites, modern infrastructures and the reconstruction of cities after WW II.
The late process of globalization begins with the emigration of artists and architects during WW I, and continuing with the exodus due to the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and the beginning of WW II. In this sense, Europe acts as a transmission device, the key node in a complex process of emission and assimilation. Today we live in a liquid reality where permeability is the motto, where professionals and intellectuals can move across borders because of their porosity.
According to our thesis, there is a distinguishing feature in European Architecture beyond a “Made in Europe” label:
– Is a sense of European-ness something that can be transmitted?
– Is the complexity of the European urban experience exportable?
– Today, can we believe in “Learning from Europe”?
To debate these questions, a group of curators from the different National Pavilions of this Edition of La Biennale will be brought together providing views from within and beyond European boundaries.

The symposium’s aims are
-To bring together all the actors involved in the construction of European cities.
-To establish a dialogue between what happens within our boundaries and beyond, and how porosity works.
-To recognise and commend excellence in European architecture in conceptual, social, cultural, technical and constructive terms.
-To highlight the European city as a sustainable and intelligent city, contributing to a sustainable European economy.