Prior to the UIA congress, Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx) has gathered 45 manifestos from all over the world, questioning the role of architecture in imagining and creating a sustainable future. These manifestos have inspired the exhibition Architecture and the Art of Agitation, an exploration of the history, function and aesthetic of the architecture manifesto as a tool of agitation.
Reevaluating the manifesto genre and its recent renaissance, we will examine the manifesto's discursive relations and utopian potential through a five-part Reading Club hosted during the exhibition period.
On the opening of the Architecture and the Art of Agitation exhibition, we are rereading two seminal architectural manifestos, starting with Le Corbusier's classic Towards an Architecture (1923), turning 100 this year. Kristoffer Weiss, philosopher, director of the Danish Architectural Press and ex-partner in EFFEKT, will be our guide into the universes of Le Corbusier, envisioning an ideal (urban) order, and Rem Koolhaas' pragmatist manifesto Junkspace (2001), embracing the chaos of 'dirty realism'.
How do these incredibly influential urbanists and manifesto authors differ in their approach to architecture and agitation in different urban contexts and periods? What are their legacy and relevance today–if any?
You can download the two manifestos that will be discussed tonight, read them in advance and prepare questions starting here:
Junkspace by Rem Koolhaas (2002)
Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier (1923)
Program:
16:30 - Doors open
17:00 - Contextual reading by Kristoffer Weiss
17:45 - Joint discussion of the two manifestos
- 19:00 Enjoy the exhibition and drinks
Price: 30 DKK for non-members, 0 DKK for CAFx Community members
Check out other events from the CAFx Manifesto Reading Club:
2 May CAFx Manifesto Reading Club Vol. II : The New Neighbourhood Manifesto
10 May CAFx Manifesto Reading Club Vol. III: Revisiting the Situationists with David Pinder
