URTZI GRAU, CRISTINA GOBERNA

(FAKE INDUSTRIES
ARCHITECTURAL AGONISM)
1936, Prolog
2012 | The Neufert Variations, 0047 Gallery, Oslo

Some architectural documents have the capacity of unveiling cultural

symptoms. The book that defines European architectural standards, Neufert, is
one of them. First published in Germany in 1936, it best exemplifies the project
of optimization and standardization of bodies, and eventually life itself that soon
shifted the history of Europe.

1936, Prolog
by FAKE INDUSTRIES ARCHITECTURAL AGONISM

1936, Prolog investigates the corrections, changes and amendments to the

different introductions of Neufert, from the first edition to the most recent 14th
Spanish edition from 1995. It focus specifically on the seemingly objective
language of these pieces avoids any ideological evaluation of the project in
hands. Rather, the prologs list the committees, institutions and experts validating the scientific nature of its contents, but fail to contextualize Neuferts
standardization project, alluding instead to the corrections that healed the
obsolescence of the original text.
Its value has been attested to by its inclusion in the exhibition The Neufert
Variations curated by Martin Braathen for the 0047 Gallery in Oslo in 2012.

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URTZI GRAU
CRISTINA GOBERNA
(FAKE INDUSTRIES
ARCHITECTURAL
AGONISM)
1936, Prolog

Exhibition view

|2

URTZI GRAU
CRISTINA GOBERNA
(FAKE INDUSTRIES
ARCHITECTURAL
AGONISM)
1936, Prolog

Exhibition view

|3

URTZI GRAU
CRISTINA GOBERNA
(FAKE INDUSTRIES
ARCHITECTURAL
AGONISM)
1936, Prolog

Exhibition poster

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The Neufert Variations

OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 25, 2012

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PREVIOUS | NEXT 1/6
On The Six-Cornered
Snowflake
In Character / Role
The exhibition "The Neufert Variations" circles around Ernst Neuferts
Control
architectural encyclopaedia Architects Data/Bauentwurfslehre.The book,
PROJECTS
EXHIBITIONS
EVENTS utopias
PUBLICATIONS
BLOG ABOUT
Pan-Barentz
popularly known as Neufert, occupies
a space
between the boundless
2008
of architecture and the rule-governed everyday of the building industry,
Storyteller
between the Bauhaus and the Third Reich, between humanism and industrial
We are coming!
standardization. Neufert was first published in Germany in 1936 and has since
18% Gray
been released in numerous languages and updates. As a comprehensive
Heartbeat
architectural reference book, Neufert contains an enormous amount of
A Week of Kindness
functional and dimensional diagrams; how much space do you need for a
Soft Spot
handshake, what is the turning radius on semi-trailer, how do you organize a
Rykk tilbake til start
cemetery most effectively, and how to arrange two guest beds based on the
2007
relationship between the sleepers.
Vodou
Norwegian Collection of
But Neufert also contains a large amount of meta information, such as a crash
Potential Architecture
courses in architectural history and the psychology of perception, the art of
Cosmic Dropout
holding a pencil properly, and instructions in negotiating contracts. In other
Opening reception: Friday, October 26th 7pm

http://0047.org/exhibitions/view/67

0047 Exhibitions

22/12/14 3:05 PM

words, Neufert could be seen as a complete guide to the world of the

functionalist architect; avoiding design, only abstract diagrams focused on
distilled functions. The book fits perfectly to the modernist ideology of creating
the building inside and out, tailored around the function. Having spread
successfully across the globe it can probably be found in a majority of
architects offices in the western world it has nonetheless always been a
source of criticism; its simplifications of man, its connection to Albert Speer, its
scientific approach to the world. Nevertheless, it has been standing strong, both
loved and hated, until today when it is pushed aside in favour of increasingly
specialized building legislation, digital databases, and new design paradigms.
The exhibition "The Neufert Variations" circles around Neufert, not
biographically, but rather as a phenomenon within architecture culture. Through
commissioned and historical works by architects and artists, we speculate
around the books world of ideas, its history and creative potential. Topics
include architects passionate love-hate relationship with rules and norms, the
compromise as a negotiation between utopia and reality, as well as Neuferts
esoteric and fictional sides.

Works by / Verk av:

Markus Degerman
Eriksen Skajaa Arkitekter

Video Weeks
Come Into The Open
2006
Momentum 2006 Domestic Affairs
Industry!
All Together Now
Dugnad
Amanita Verosa
Salong
2005
Industry Revisited
Berliner Kunstsalon
B-sides
1/32 and Bloody Eclectic
Punk.
Architecture.Technology.
What about next Friday,
Mr Crusoe?
Reveries of Endlessness
Non Lo So
2004
Intuitive Navigation
Mifa
Pz!

URTZI GRAU
CRISTINA GOBERNA
(FAKE INDUSTRIES
ARCHITECTURAL
AGONISM)
1936, Prolog

Supporting Evidence
The Neufert Variations, 0047
Gallery,

http://www.0047.org/exhibitions/
view/67

Ghilardi Hellsten Architects

Toril Johannessen
Powerhouse Company
Superunion Architects
Bernard Tschumi
Mns Wrange / OMBUD

Contributions by / Bidrag av:

Atelier Oslo, Barkow Leibinger Architekten, Brendeland & Kristoffersen
Arkitekter, Ensamble Studio, Jan Carlsen, Fake Industries, Architectural
Agonism, Carl-Viggo Hlmebakk, JAJA Architects, Markus Miessen, MMW
Arkitekter, Dag Nilsen, Point Supreme Architects, Rintala Eggertson Architects,
SFOSL Architects, TYIN Tegnestue and Urban Rabbe Architects.

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