Architectures on Display: On the History and Contemporary Approaches to Exhibiting Architecture
May 4–15, 2020
Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology
Delft 2628 BL
The Netherlands
The Berlage is pleased to announce that renowned architectural historian Barry Bergdoll will lead its upcoming theory master class, entitled “Architectures on Display: On the History and Contemporary Approaches to Exhibiting Architecture.” Despite the obvious paradox of exhibiting representations of buildings rather than buildings themselves, practices of displaying architecture have grown exponentially in both frequency and variety of approach over the last centuries. Probably since paper was invented, architects have pinned up drawings for review by patrons, clients, and colleagues. But the creation of public exhibitions of architecture, with the aims of engaging non-professionals and creating an audience for architecture distinct from the experience of buildings in-situ dates only from the second half of the 18th century.
The master class, to be held from Monday, May 4 to Friday, May 15, will combine a consideration of the history and main theoretical ideas raised by the culture of displaying architecture with a practical workshop in which participants develop an approach to inscribing knowledge in space based on a set of predefined objects. Working closely with Bergdoll, and reflecting upon his curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, participants will examine the decision and design phases of creating an impactful public presentation of architecture within a museum or gallery institution. The two-week-long program will be complemented by lectures and discussions with international guests, and be concluded with a pop-up exhibition at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.
This master class is organized in close collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut, where Bergdoll is a visiting scholar at the Jaap Bakema Study Centre on the occasion of the upcoming exhibition Art on Display 1949–69: Albini, Bo Bardi, Scarpa, Smithsons, Van Eyck.
Barry Bergdoll is the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Columbia University. He served as The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design from 2007 to 2013. His scholarship focuses on modern architectural history with a particular emphasis on France and Germany since 1800. At MoMA he organized, curated, and consulted on several major exhibitions of 19th and 20th-century architecture, including Latin America in Construction: Architecture 1955-1980 (2015) and Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light (2013). He is the author and editor of numerous publications, including Mies in Berlin (2001); European Architecture 1750-1890, in the Oxford History of Art series (2001); Karl Friedrich Schinkel: An Architecture for Prussia (1994); and Léon Vaudoyer: Historicism in the Age of Industry (1994).
Master classes at the Berlage
Master classes are a unique feature of the Berlage. Twice a year students and young professionals work with world-renowned architects, designers, and thinkers to analyze a chosen subject relevant to contemporary issues in the built environment and are encouraged to experiment with alternative forms of representation and dissemination. Recent master classes have been led by Assemble, Beatriz Colomina, Reinier de Graaf, Hans Kollhoff, Hideyuki Nakayama, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, and Felicity D Scott.
About the Berlage
Founded in 1990 as the Berlage Institute, the Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design, located in Delft, educates architects in a highly collaborative and experimental setting, characterized by independent study with guidance and input from and exchange with leading and emerging designers and scholars. Since 2012, students have benefitted from the world-class facilities of TU Delft, as well as close exchange with its academic staff and students.
Dates: Monday, May 4 to Friday, May 15, 2020
Place: The Berlage, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology
The master class is open to a limited number of participants. Interested applicants can submit a motivation statement, CV, and abbreviated portfolio by Wednesday, April 1 to info@theberlage.nl
