Sheds

Fig. 01 Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venture, 1964 in Philadelphia.

Robert Venturi’s book Complexity and Contradition in Architecture (published in 1966) can be descrived as a gentle manifesto for a non-straightforward archtiecture. Whilst his work with Denise Scott Brown on Learning from Las Vegas questions the role of the high street, something that the project began an interest with - Venturi continued to emphasize the communicative function of architecture through signs and symbols. One of the clearest examples is his firm’s design for the Best Products catalog showroom. An instance of what the architect called a “decorated shed,” the large, boxlike building was clad in decorative panels painted with oversized, colorful flowers—a pattern derived from the commercial wallpaper in Venturi and Scott Brown’s own bedroom, but also an homage to Pop art and popular culture.

This major project is particualrly interested in the idea of how the proposed project, like that of a decorated shed or a big box can facilitate a conversation around the architecture of infrastructure and their ability to contain urban approaches, technical resolution and civicness.

Fig. 02 Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venture, 1964 in Philadelphia.

Fig. 03 Vanna Venturi House, Robert Venture, 1964 in Philadelphia.

Fig. 04 National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame in New Brunswick, NJ by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, 1967.

Fig. 05 National Collegiate Football Hall of Fame in New Brunswick, NJ by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, 1967.