This project used the German pavilion in Giardini, as a medium, and an incubator of conflict, combing the idea and motif of Altana behind Fondaco dei Tedeschi and Saffa Public Housing to represent the contradiction of the curation, tourism and preservation in Venice.

Venice is an exhibition, the curation is conducted by its presentation of symbol through historicity of the façade, which are the main incentives of the mass tourism.

German pavilion is the epitome of Venice and its contradictions of curation, tourism and preservation. Itself is indeed the definition of contradiction: since 1993, the curators had broken the floor, the wall, and even built in a chancellor’s house inside, to deny its so-called Nazi Neo-classical façade. As long as façade of pavilion stays, the conflicts and contradictions will go on. It’s just like Venice. The locals hate tourism, yet the entire city relies on it – an endless circle of production and consumption. As long as Venice as a city survives, the conflicts and contradictions will go on.

The project evolves specifically to the Altana of Fondaco dei Tedeschi and the Saffa Housing. Altana is an add-on roof balcony commonly seen in Venice. It’s a statement from local - not part of the building but added-on later by the will of the local to serve the purpose of their interests. Now the contradiction between the Altana of Fondaco and Saffa are: Fondaco one is the add-on, by OMA. Of course, the building’s preservation is a history of change. On the other hand, the Altana is built in the conception of Saffa Housing.

From people’s perspective, there is always a mutual connection between observing and being observed in Altana. Though people on top of the Altana in the Fondaco have the privilege of only observing, without being observed. Here, the contradiction between the knowledge of space is what interests me. Collin Rowe in his book’ Transparency’ talked about 2 types of transparency, the literal and the phenomenal.

The literal transparency as the physical translucence inherent in structure, where is the case of Altana in the Saffa house, the knowledge of the space is direct and equal to both observer and the one being observed. The phenomenal transparency on the other hand, as a knowledge inherent in the volumetric organization, where is the case of Altana in the Fondaco.

The medium: German pavilion. It’s 4 facades are unfolded to one totality. Because when I was there last week, the curator denied the main entrance and opened 2 small doors on rear sides. However, they denied the façade of Neo-classicism but still utilise it’s more than 10ms tall, inhumanly scaled space inside. The contradiction lies in it: deny the façade, use the space the façade wraps.

The internal space doesn’t matter anymore, all they care enough to criticise and condemn about is the façade, because of its motif behind the architectural language.

The contradiction of Fondaco and Saffa in German Pavilion lies in 2 ways, if one sees the façade as a totality, an object, to the observer, or in this case, the tourist – the façade produces knowledge of the space as literal transparency. If one turns an angle, the Saffa housing façade still produces a literal transparency, you see right though the opening. But the Fondaco revealed itself in displacement and superimposition, which produces the knowledge of space as phenomenal transparency. That’s the contradiction gave to the observer outside.

The second layer of contradiction lies in two facades in the totality. As we know as a typical Altana, the Saffa housing provided a platform of observing and being observed, on the other hand, Fondaco provided a platform of observing without being observed. In this case, the contradiction between two facades in one totality is reversed by putting the Saffa Housing façade on top of the Altana of Fondaco. Saffa Housing façade in this case becomes the observer overlooking the Fondaco without being observed. It becomes the ‘altana’ of the Fondaco.

The status of these 2 Altana are swapped as an irony, an epitome of the everlasting contradiction of Venice.