Crimson Architectural Historians is proud to announce the opening of the exhibition The Banality of Good: Six decades of New Towns, Architects, Money and Politics at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, UK on March 26th 2013.
The exhibition asks: can the design of New Towns again be a subject of collective pride to architects and not of professional shame like it seems to be now? ‘Banality’ is unavoidable when building for the life of millions. But instead of the banality of the icon, the banality of wealth or the banality of fear, like we see in so many new cities presently, can it be the Banality of Good?
The exhibition presents a series of six exemplary cities that were planned in the last six decades. The selected cities are Stevenage (UK), Tema (Ghana), Alphaville-Tamboré (Brasil), Almere (Netherlands), Songjiang (China) and King Abdullah Economic City (Saudi Arabia). The ideals of these cities will be showcased through large allegories on six wooden triptychs that represent both the dreams and the realities of the towns. There are steel and aluminium diagrams that demonstrate the shared DNA of the towns and finally there is an Argument Wall, on which Crimson has pinned her convictions about what matters in New Town Planning.
The Banality of Good: Six decades of New Towns, Architects, Money and Politics is a travelling exhibition and was presented before at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia 2012, 'Common Ground', directed by David Chipperfield.
With thanks to Creative Industries Fund NL, RIBA, International New Town Institute and the The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in London.
For more information on the venue please visit: www.architecture.com
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