PA R A L L E L I n s e r t i o n S t i r l i n g @ Ca’ Corner Della Regina
Ruoyun Xu
Content
2
4-13
Wayfinding Plans
14-15
Prologue
16-19
Q&A
20-27
Materials
28-65
Works
66-67
Critics Review
68-85
Index
86-103
Notes
104-131
Knowledge Bank
3
Wayfiniddng Plans
4
5
6
Ground Floor 7
8
First Mezzanine 9
10
Second Mezzanine 11
12
Piano Nobile 13
Prologue
As Tafuri believes postmodernism to be a “liberating act realised in prejudice of a later fable, of a ‘historic construction,’ consumed, although paradoxically maintained in life as a fake past, assumed as the godmother to whom badly hidden complexes are dedicated”, he categorised postmodern architects into two mainstreams: the quiet ones and the ones who speak. James Stirling, who recklessly manifests and advocates his ideas by using the architectural form to deliberately produce evocative images, clearly belongs to the latter.
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While being good at manipulating architectural languages both syntactically and semantically, Stirling is “notorious” for implementing playfulness into his architecture. In the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, he deployed the composition of a classical 19th-century museum including the central circular courtyard and embedded modern, high-tech materials into the details. While balancing between monumentality and liveliness, this dramatic juxtaposition forms heavy contrasts and contradictions between the past and the modern for visitors to explore and interact with. What would be like if these Stirling approaches and aesthetics are injected into a grand Baroque palazzo located miles away in Venice, Italy? How would they influence each other and what would be generated? Would there be immiscible components? This project analyses these questions by radically inserting Stirling’s materials into the 17th-century architecture Ca’Corner della Regina at different scales from objects to architecture. The product is put into examinations through the lens of art exhibition and curation to discuss art critic and curator Lucy R. Lippard’s comments on ideology and authentic aesthetic in art. As the tensions and harmonies of different forces interplay, a potent ternary exhibition machine engined by Stirling is generated in Ca’Corner della Regina.
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Q&A On Stirling (Archive) What did you find most challenging when working with Stirling’s material from the CCA archive? The most challenging thing for me is that they are in such a different style. Stirling is postmodern whereas Ca’Corner is classical. I find it hard to bring them into the same space and find the balance between their styles. Also, the Stirling material is mostly photos and drawings so it is hard to find the details. Do you think Stirling is still relevant for contemporary discourse? If yes, why? If no, why? I guess so. I think in postmodern architects he is quite successful. Some postmodern architects today only focus on the surfaces and the visual qualities of the space. They don’t really care about the configuration or the spatial experience. His work has both the visual qualities to attract people and the intrinsic architectural experiences at the same time. His works can provide some insights for many postmodern architects today. 16
On Museum What are the challenges of thinking the museum beyond a container for art? What is exhibited and what does the exhibiting in your museum project? Is it that simple? When a museum is beyond a container for art, this thinking changes the function of the museum that we traditionally recognize. It is challenging to think about what other functions should be introduced into the museum and how to achieve the balance from the art exhibition function and other new functions that we are introducing. For the exhibition, all of the material that I chose for the project is quite planar so it is almost like a surface treatment. That is why I exhibited the paintings in my project as integrated surfaces onto the columns or the “glass box”. In other words, I used the painting as a surface to partially replace the original surface of the columns or walls or glass panels of Ca’Corner. What are the challenges you have encountered when working with the Ca’Corner building? E.g. the Venetian context, the architectural ornamentation, the spatial structure, etc. How did that challenge inform your approach to the museum? I think architectural ornamentation is quite important to my project. I was attracted to it because it is such a distinct characteristic of Ca’Corner. It is the ornaments that make Ca’Corner what it is and it is so different to what Stirling has. I modelled it in quite a lot of detail to find the balance between the heavy ornamentation of Ca’Corner and the simplicity of Stirling. Most Stirling works I chose only have the exposed structure and are full of machine aesthetics. 17
On Exhibition Considering the role of technology in exhibition design, is this a concern for your design? If so, in what capacity? For me, it is a concern because I changed the way the painting is installed. The paintings are more than just artworks exhibited, but also functions as devices to influence the surfaces of the original architecture. Does this idea of exhibition or display technology change your conception of museum architecture? Yes. In my project, I was trying to implement Stirling into the display as well. It brings a new perspective for me to see Stirling in this way, for example, dissecting Stirling’s work into fragmented elements that can be incorporated into the design of the display.
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On (the) Future How would you describe an architecture that exists solely inside the museum? How is that architecture different to architecture that exists outside the museum? I think the function of the architecture within the museum is more dedicated to art display and offering an opportunity for people to engage with art. It is like a medium connecting the audience to the art. As the targeted audience of museums were constantly changing with time, from private to aristocrats and finally to the public as today, the transformation can be reflected in the museum architecture as well. Has your project for a museum changed your position or attitude to architecture more generally? If yes, how? I haven’t worked on a project with so many classical elements before so it gives me an opportunity to explore more different styles. I also think this kind of merging of different architectural styles and approaches is very interesting. I look forward to further exploring this hybrid methodology in the future. Interviewed by Joanna Tidy 19
Materials Stirling Archive from CCA
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Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany: interior view 1977-1984 21
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany: view of the upper terrace 1983-1984 22
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany: view of the galleries 1983-1984
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Stirling Texts
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25
26
27
Works
28
The project Parallel Insertion studies the architectural vocabulary and syntax of architect James Stirling and examines them into the classical Baroque style palazzo Ca’Corner della Regina in Venice, Italy. By superimposing Stirling on Ca’Corner context, the project amplifies the abrupt contrasts and contradictions between the structural high-tech machine aesthetics of Stirling and the grandiose, rich-ornamented classicism. The project deploys Stirling as a serial of apparatuses to shatter the theatrical internal space of Ca’Corner and these moments are captured and displayed in the integrated exhibition devices.
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Plans
30
Ground Floor 31
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Ground Floor Pages from Ca Corner della Regina Fondazione Prada, 2011
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First Mezzanine
35
36
First Mezzanine Pages from Ca Corner della Regina Fondazione Prada, 2011
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Second Mezzanine
39
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Second Mezzanine Pages from Ca Corner della Regina Fondazione Prada, 2011
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42
Piano Nobile
43
44
Piano Nobile Pages from Ca Corner della Regina Fondazione Prada, 2011
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Sections
46
Section A-A 47
48
Section B-B
49
50
Section C-C
51
52
Section D-D
53
Tilted lift as a
Apparatus 1 Glass Box The Glass Box defunctions the vertical circulation elements of Ca’Corner by a series of transforming operations including flipping, twisting, scaling, stretching, bending. It questions whether the visiting routes of contemporary museums should be prescribed by curators or free to explore by visitorsb
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a boxy machine penetrating through the stairs
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Perspective of Apparatus 1 57
Massive
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granite wall replaces ornamented surfaces
Apparatus 2 Granite Curve
The Granite Curvefollows the rhythm of Baroque arched doors in Ca’Corner and brings in some curvilinear qualities to the space. It also has the openness extracted from the Stirling museum.
Axonometric View of Apparatus 2
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Perspective of Apparatus 2 61
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Columns hollowed by paintings
Apparatus 3 Hollow Columns The Hollow Columns implements artworks as surfaces to insert into the various sorts of columns in Ca’Corner to make inquiries into the meanings and roles of surfaces in architecture.
Axonometric View of Apparatus 3
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Perspective of Apparatus 3 65
Critics Review
In the project Parallel Insertion by Ruoyun Xu, the new museum project explores a formal integration between Classicism and Modernism, by inserting the elements and thinking from Stirling’s Museum projects into the Ca’Corner Museum. Stirling’s elements are presented visually, through the use of colours, materials, and textures. Starting with the Objects. It is interesting to note that the selected objects that this project is focusing on are circulatory, including the elevator, exterior public walkway, and interior doorway. These objects are introduced into the key circulation space within the museum.
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The arrangement of the internal museum space is grounded on the foundation of these circulatory object components, it creates a visual impact on the internal spaces that the audience could experience Stirling within the envelope of Ca’Corner Museum. The blue and orange high-tech exhibition boxes and curvy walkway are guiding people to walk along the curated journey. It also represents an industrial aesthetic motif inspired by the Stirling, the ornamentations of the Ca’Corner Museum are organized in a modernist setting, creating a unique language by the consistency of inconsistency. The exhibition “Stop Painting” begins at the entrance of the museum, all the way up to the Piano Nobile level. It is assumed to be a permanent exhibition in the Ca’Corner Museum, as the internal rooms and spaces are organized specifically for the exhibition. The exhibition is mainly divided into 2 distinct zones, Ideology and Aesthetic, the artworks are allocated accordingly. They are displayed clearly in a curated order, from “Ideology vs Aesthetic”, to “Death of Art”, and ends with “Rebirth of Art”. The narrative of the exhibition is parallel to the overall design of the museum, the exhibition begins with two contrasting styles, as it goes along the journey, the styles are fused together and assembled to form its identity. The artworks are not only displayed on vertical planes but also horizontally on the ceiling, enabling the space to be experienced holistically. Justin Yan Hei Tse 67
Index Phase 1 Object Space Disqualification
68
69
70
71
Gate of Theseus
72
73
Three
74
Doors
75
Phase 2 Museum
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
Notes
Phase 1
86
87
88
89
90
Phase 2
91
92
93
94
95
Phase 3
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
Knowledge Bank
Inspirations
104
105
106
Do Ho Suh 107
Denkmal 4, Jan de Cock
Denkmal 47, Jan de Cock 108
Ali Paşa Çarşısı, Sinan the Architect
109
Chris Burden, Metropolis II
110
Centre Pompidou, Renzo Piano 111
Down to Earth, Michael Asher 112
Dulwich Picture Gallery, Sir John Soane 113
114
Finella, Raymond McGrath 115
Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo, Lina Bo Bardi Louis Kahn, India Institute of Managemen
Galleria Spada, Francesco Borromini 116
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Le Fresnoy Art Centre, Bernard Tschumi
Louis Sullivan, National Farmers Bank 117
Museum of Glass and Ceramics, Hans Hollein 118
119
Retti Candle Shop, Hans Hollein 120
Pepsi Pavilion, EAT
The Museum of Copying, FAT 121
The Set for American Mysteries, Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio 122
The Set for American Mysteries, Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio 123
Carla
The Squash, Anthea Hamilton 124
WWE ThunderDome
Triennale di Milano, a Marzoli and Francesco Gnecchi Rescone
Villa Muller, Adolf Loos 125
References
126
Stirling, 1986 127
The SIGN Critic Eva Fabbris
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Other References - JFZ Notes from the Archive - Notes on the Modern Museum - Tafuri on Stirling - Germano Celant interview with Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli - Renee Sandell, Female Aesthetics: The Women’s Art - Movement and Its Aesthetic Split - Ana María León, The Boudoir in The Expanded Field - Colin Rowen & Robert Slutsky, Transparency: Literal and Phenomenal Video List
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