Powerhouse Company Architects Exhibition, Design Studio Holland, Dutch Architecture Practice

Powerhouse Company Architecture Exhibition

Architects Studio Netherlands Show at Architecture Foundation London, England, UK

22 May 2012

Powerhouse Company Exhibition

SHIFTS : The Economic Crisis and its Consequences for Architecture

Until June 9th, The Architecture Foundation in London is hosting SHIFTS, an exhibition by Powerhouse Company and Hans Ibelings (The Architecture Observer). SHIFTS illustrates the far-reaching impacts of the economy on the recent past, the troubled present and the unknown future of Western architecture. On May 22nd the exhibition’s accompanying publication, SHIFTS: Architecture After the 20th Century, will be launched in London with a special event at The Architecture Foundation.

photographs : Christian van der Kooy

Powerhouse Company : key priojects + studio information

The exhibition SHIFTS explores the current situation of Western architecture. It is a continuation of the exhibition ‘Rien ne va Plus’ (a gambling term, translated as ‘place no more bets’), a previous collaboration between Powerhouse Company and Hans Ibelings in 2008 that explored the impact of the 2008 financial crash on architecture. Now, four years later, the crisis has not ended, but has deepened; reason to continue, update and expand the research that was started in 2008 in the form of a new publication and exhibition.

According to the writers: “The global crisis that erupted in 2008 has left unmistakably deep scars in architectural culture. But what is happening now is not solely attributable to what began as a mortgage crisis; many of the causes lie deeper, and go back further than a few years. In a way, the recession has simply accelerated, and exacerbated, various pre-existing trends. Without overstating the case, the West, and above all Europe, is undergoing such major change at the beginning of the twenty-first century that it is no longer logical to expect the future to be simply an extrapolation and continuation of the recent past.

And this could well have far-reaching consequences for architecture. This is not the first time that people have declared that things will never be the same again. And up to now reality has usually turned out to be a good deal better than predicted. But there are reasons why architects in Europe should consider the possibility that this time it really might turn out differently.”

SHIFTS appropriates the formats of a traditional architectural exhibition – diagrams, a film, text and, in particular scale models – to survey several key indicators of the current context. By providing these visualisations of the socio-economic data behind building development and design, Powerhouse Company and Hans Ibelings invite the visitor to speculate how architecture has arrived at its current conditions, and to ponder what comes next. After London the exhibition will travel to several other locations.

The accompanying publication SHIFTS: Architecture After the 20th Century will be released in London at The Architecture Foundation on May 22nd. SHIFTS is both a catalogue of the exhibition and an essay about the consequences of the multiple crises architecture in the West is currently confronting. SHIFTS is published by The Architecture Observer.

photographs : Christian van der Kooy

About Hans Ibelings

Hans Ibelings is an architectural historian and critic. From 1989 to 2000 he was a curator at the Netherlands Architecture Institute; from 2004 to 2012 he was editor-in-chief of A10; in 2005 and 2006 he was a visiting professor at the EPFL (Lausanne). Ibelings is the author of several books including Supermodernism: Architecture in the age of globalization and European architecture since 1890. Since 2012 he is editor of The Architecture Observer, a magazine that employs a variety of old and new media in the pursuit of architectural criticism.

About The Architecture Foundation

Founded in 1991 as the UK’s first independent architecture centre, The Architecture Foundation is a non-profit agency for contemporary architecture, urbanism and culture. The Architecture Foundation cultivates new talent and new ideas. Through it’s diverse programmes The Architecture Foundation facilitates international and interdisciplinary exchange, stimulates critical engagement amongst professionals, policy makers and a broad public, and shapes the quality of the built environment. The Architecture Foundation is independent, agile, inclusive and influential. Central to their activities is the belief that architecture enriches lives.

Exhibition Dates

The exhibition was on view until 9 Jun 2012
Tue – Sat, 12:00 – 6:00 pm; Free admission
Venue: The Architecture Foundation, 136-148 Tooley St, London SE1 2TU

Selected Exhibition Events

SHIFTS : Book Launch and Discussion
22 May
Hans Ibelings and Nanne de Ru explore the themes of the exhibition and launch a new book resulting from its research.
Tickets: £5 Full Price / £3 AF Members

Publication
Hans Ibelings and Powerhouse Company, Shifts: Architecture After the 20th Century
Published by The Architecture Observer
Due 22 May 2012
15 x 20 cm, 96 pages, illustrations in colour and black/white
ISBN 978-90-819207-0-4.
18.00 euro
The book is on sale in bookstores, and can be ordered through The Architecture Observer (www.architectureobserver.eu)

Location: 136-148 Tooley St, London SE1 2T, UK
Powerhouse Museum Exhibition