09-12-21 icam03_cover eingerichtet:cover 21.12.2009 17:36 Uhr Seite 1 “We exist because we have a great icam disorder in organisation, [but] order in spirit.” Sigfried Giedion print 03 print 03 international confederation of architectural museums special issue an organisation of architectural museums, centres and collections history special issue interviews contents issues and debates history interviews issues and debates about about icam icam December 2009 isbn 3-9502083-2-1 09-12-17 icam03_kern p.1-112:kern 21.12.2009 16:40 Uhr Seite 1 contents 2 editorial 3 letter from the president history 4 juhani pallasmaa icam 30 years, the founding of a confederation 8 angela giral international confederation of architectural museums, a history 16 elisabeth seip, dietmar steiner icam conferences, a retrospective view 28 jöran lindvall 13 years with the icam board 32 icam from 1979 to 2010 interviews 34 gerald beasley interview with phyllis lambert 40 jolanta gromadzka interview with olgierd czerner 48 monika platzer interview with mariet willinge issues and debates 56 dietmar steiner icam, 30 years lecture: architecture museums today 64 jean-louis cohen exhibitionism and its limits 70 andreas tönnesmann, bruno maurer collecting architecture today and tomorrow 76 manuel blanco vanishing paper, vanishing records 80 claes caldenby, johan linton the presence of the past: tendencies in architectural history 88 ulrike jehle-schulte strathaus art and architecture, artist and architects about icam 98 michael snodin icam 30 years: helsinki revisited 102 jane thomas icam14 104 jane thomas secretary general’s report 106 corinne bélier icam15 für baukunst, haus der architektur, stadtmuseum graz, vai vorarlberger architektur institut, wagner:werk, museum postsparkasse | belgium | civa 09-12-17 icam03_kern p.1-112:kern 21.12.2009 16:40 Uhr Seite 2 editorial 2 Architecture museums have become a fixture in the museum landscape. Even if there is no universal model for them, the 30th anniversary of icam provides a suitable oppor- tunity to reflect on the role and tasks of architecture museums, and the challenges they face. The majority of the contributions published here are based on the icam 30 years — helsinki revisited: The Future of Architecture Museums symposium held in Helsinki this year. So all those members of icam who were unable to come to Helsinki have a belated opportunity to participate in the discussion. In this context, our gratitude goes to the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, and in particular to Severi Blomstedt, Kristiina Nivari, Hanna Galtat and Timo Keinänen. This special issue of icamprint has two focal points: In the first part, History, Angela icam archives, RIBA London Giral attempts to document the Confederation’s development for the first time, and photo Monika Platzer her untiring active support in researching original material and images should not go unmentioned. Elisabeth Seip and Dietmar Steiner provide a look back over four- teen icam conferences. In addition, the reminiscences of and interviews with founding members and members of the board Juhani Pallasmaa, Phyllis Lambert, Olgierd Czerner, Jöran Lindvall and Mariet Willingeprovide insights into developments at icam, the challenges icam faces and their perspectives on its future. Here, I should like to thank Irena Murray for providing the perfect working conditions for viewing the icam archives. The current holdings,averitable treasure trove in 21 boxes, give an idea of the challenge that communication posed (using telegrammes!) prior to the multimedia age. One of the highpoints of this collection are the 22 annotated sketches completed by Oscar Niemeyer at icam10 in Rio. Respect is due to those colleagues from the early years. This look back at the history of icam includes with a list of the names of all of the Confederation’s activists. In the second section, Issues and Debates, Dietmar Steiner reflects on the demands facing an architecture museum today. The contribu- tions by Jean-Louis Cohen, Andreas Tönnesmann/Bruno Maurer and Manuel Blanco engage with the core activities of architecture museums, holding exhibitions and collection/storage. Developments in the architecture theory over the years are traced by Claes Caldenby/Johan Linton, and Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus takes Novartis Campus as an example in pursuing the extent to which artists broaden and sharpen the perception of the built environment. This issue closes with reports on the icam activities of Michael Snodin and Jane Thomas, as well as a preview of, Corinne Belier, and an invitation from the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine to participate in the long awaited icam15 conference in Paris, 2010. As always, my gratitude to all of the contributing authors and the editorial board, without whom this, the most extensive issue to date, would not have been possible — so, here’s to the next 30 years of icam! monika platzer, editor the international centre for urbanisme, cvaa centre for flemish architectural archives | bulgaria | bulgarian academy of sciences | canada | carto- g 09-12-17 icam03_kern p.1-112:kern 21.12.2009 16:40 Uhr Seite 3 icam print03 letter from the president This summer icam members met up with some of the founding pioneers at Suomen- 3 linna Fortress, a meaningful venue, to commemorate the creation of the International Confederation of Architectural Museums (icam) on Monday 20 august 1979. There was a coincidence between the formation of icam and the global situation in this key year of 1979: With the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Army the fall of the Communist system began. Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II treatyinVienna. Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran, and Margaret Thatcher launched her neo-liberal project. In Geneva the first conference on climate change was held... These are among the political events that led to the dramatic changes in our global society which all began in the year 1979. But how has this effected or influenced the icam 30 years — helsinki revisited world of architecture and icam over the last thirty years? photo Monika Platzer 1 Let’s first take a look at the former Eastern Bloc: Contemporary architecture in the post-Communist countries has,inthe meantime, reached the standard of western European architecture. There is no difference in quality anymore. But unfortunately our contact with many of the architecture museums in the region has loosened, perhaps because of the lack of culture budgets in the now capitalist countries. 2 Undoubtedly neo-liberalism, globalization and the need for iconic buildings have opened up new possibilities for contemporary architecture: “Architecture has become an item of conspicuous consumption” (Mario Carpo). From 1979 on, the star system of architects arose (the first Pritzker Prize went to Philip Johnson). Remember also the 1980 postmodern BiennialinVenice, with Paolo Portoghesi’s Strada Novissima. Is there a relationship between the historicity of architecture in the late 1970s and early 1980s and the founding of new architecture museums? To answer this question we need to consider the role of “Architecture between spectacle and use”(Anthony Vidler). 3 Along with a rising interest in architecture, the media has been calling for images in better and higher quality than in the 1970s. So architectural photography, and now computer renderings, have come to play a key role. 4 The next new phenomenon over the past 30 years has been a growing interest in architecture among the general public, which has created a demand for architectural guidance in a context of city tourism. 5 In the15 years that I have been attending icam conferences the issue of how to deal with digital media archives in the World Wide Web has always been on the agenda. The Museum of Finnish Architecture kindly hosted the 30th anniversary of icam, providing us with the opportunity to remember and reflect on the circumstances of the Confederation’s founding, and to discuss the future challenges facing our institutions. icam and icamprint once more proved to be the perfect platform for all these pressing issues, and will continue to do so for many years to come. dietmar steiner, president graphy and architecture section — national archives of canada, cca canadian centre for architecture, university of calgary information resources | 09-12-17 icam03_kern p.1-112:kern 21.12.2009 16:40 Uhr Seite 4 history icam 30 years, the founding of a confederation juhani pallasmaa 4 The iconic building of the Pompidou Centre in Paris was opened ceremoniously at the end of January 1977 in the presence of several thousand invited guests. As the diverse range of activities of the new cultural centre also included a department for architecture and design, a dozen representatives of architectural museums and other institutions around the world active in the field of the art of building were invited to the event. I was myself present at the opening as the representative of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. In the casual conversations between the guests it became evident that there were, in fact, more museums dedicated to architecture, or in the process of being launched in various countries, than were present at the Pompidou Centre. In Helsinki we regarded our own museum, founded in 1956, as the second oldest museum of archi- tecture in the world (the Museum of Russian Architecture, which was later made into the Schusev Museum had been established eleven years earlier in 1945 in Moscow).* It occurred to me in Paris that it would probably be beneficial for both the established and emerging museums to meet and possibly have an organisation of sorts for future contact and collaborations. It was evident that it would have been difficult in the political climate of the late 1970s for the oldest museum in our field, the Schusev Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1956 Museum, to arrange such a meeting in Moscow.