West End Extra - 11 April 2008
By: Jamie Welham
A HANDFUL of the most celebrated architects from around the would have come together to offer their musings on our cities.
At a time when grand designs are more often than not underwhelming, and the housing market anachronistically favours conservative pastiche developments, we have never needed our architects more than now. A bit melodramatic perhaps, but one can argue that architects are the guardians of our cities - determining their future and by default the complexion of the society we hope for.
Great buildings are theatres for our political, cultural and commercial lives. But it's not all about the future. Boasting works from such glass and steel luminaries as Norman Foster and Nicholas Grimshaw. The Architecture Show offers an insight into buildings that blurs the relationship between art and architecture - beauty and functionality.
The exhibition dispels the myth that the aforementioned pairings are irreconcilable. Among the other architects on display is Gerry Judah. His work humanises architecture, illuminating the impact of humanity on architecture and vice versa. His large, white canvases are inspired by images of war zones - making an understated but nevertheless profound statement on the brutality of conflict.
Other featured artists in what promises to be a cerebral experience include Renaissance expert Andrea Vizzini and Canadian modernist aficionado Arthur Erikson.
