1980
Hans Hollein continues the theme of historical citation in the creation of one of the facades “Strada Novissima” for the Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice (1980), the slogan of which was, “The presence of the past”. Hollein’s façade was a vivid metaphor for the past, perceived through the worldview of postmodern irony. The architect chooses the most widespread art-compositional system in the entire history of architecture – the order system.
The classical order, pursuing the entire European culture, then fading into the background, then reviving, is perceived as a standard of professional architectural language. It was abandoned, simplified, transformed, turned into a decoration, but it has always been featured in world architecture, thanks to its versatility. All the columns that Hollein placed on this street became different parts of the main element. Different materials such as brick, concrete, wood, marble, classical ruins showed a smooth transformation from primitive to modern. This is a kind of Hans Hollein’s re-evaluation of history.