Archaeology of the Digital: Complexity and Convention

The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) presents “Archaeology of the Digital: Complexity and Convention”, an exhibition that focuses on the integration of digital methods in architectural practice. The exhibition opens on May 10, 2016, and will be on view until October 16.

Curated by Greg Lynn, Complexity and Convention is the third and final exhibition of the CCA’s Archaeology of the Digital program, in which 25 seminal projects are collected, researched and catalogued. This program develops a curatorial reading of the incorporation of the digital into architecture and addresses the challenges of preserving digital archives and assuring their future accessibility.

The third exhibition draws from archival material from 15 exemplary projects, both built and unbuilt, by international firms in the 1990s through the 2000s. Whereas the curatorial method of the first two exhibitions—Archaeology of the Digital in 2013 and Media and Machines in 2014—emphasized individual projects based on their distinct and clearly defined digital approaches, the organization is more synthetic in the third exhibition. Instead of singular practices, aspects of multiple projects are presented together. Through the lens of five curatorial themes—high-fidelity 3D, structure/cladding, data, photorealism and topography/topology—archival material is dissected and reassembled to provide a reading of innovative design strategies from the recent past that have now become convention.

The projects featured in Complexity and Convention include Erasmus Bridge (Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 1990–96) by Van Berkel & Bos Architects; Chemnitz Stadium (Chemnitz, Germany; 1995) by Peter Kulka with Ulrich Königs; O/K Apartment (New York; 1995–97) by Kolatan/Mac Donald Studio; Yokohama International Port Terminal (Yokohama, Japan; 1995–2002) by Foreign Office Architects; Interrupted Projections (Tokyo; 1996) by Neil M. Denari Architects; Kansai National Diet Library (Kyoto; 1996) by Reiser + Umemoto; Hypo Alpe-Adria Center (Klagenfurt, Austria; 1996–2002) by Morphosis; Jyväskylä Music and Arts Center (Jyväskylä, Finland; 1997) by OCEAN North; Witte Arts Center (Green Bay, USA; 2000) by Office dA; Phaeno Science Centre (Wolfsburg, Germany; 2000–05) by Zaha Hadid Architects; Eyebeam Atelier Museum (New York; 2001) by Preston Scott Cohen; Carbon Tower (prototype, 2001) by Testa & Weiser; BMW Welt (Munich, Germany; 2001–07) by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU; Villa Nurbs (Empuriabrava, Spain; 2000–15) by Cloud 9; and Water Flux (Évolène, Switzerland; 2002–10) by R&Sie(n).