I C A R C H 

 

THE HOUSE OF WAR

Maybe everything is war, and maybe Heraclitus was right: war is the father of all...

Today (September 1st, 2009) Europe marks the anniversary of the beginning of WWII, seventy years ago. On this occasion ICARCH Gallery (itself at war with itself) invites you to submit proposals for another competition: The House of War.

World War Two... what an abhorrent chapter in the history of the world...!

Almost impossible to imagine, considering that those who studied history were not supposed to repeat it...!?!

Yet, we do repeat it, with implacable devotion...!?!

Maybe Rem Koolhaas was right: we learn nothing.

Yet, we must try to learn, or re-learn...!

What kind of war did wise Heraclitus have in mind...?

And what kind of war are we supposed to avoid by all means...?!

How would The House of War look like...?

It could be, indeed, a "simple" expression of a war between a husband and a wife (or "simply" two partners), separated in bed by a thick wall that divides that "shared " bed, like in that perverse early "project" by Diller and Scofidio... or it could be like almost any building conceived by Coop Himmelb(l)au... or it could have "expressionistic" elements testifing about that angst that seems to have some difficulties deserting the human soul...

Whatever the form, please give expression to your feelings / thoughts about WAR, manifested through a building: The House of War.

Design the House of War, discover, or re-discover the roots and "folliage" of war.

Plunge into war (inner or outer or both), dear architect, in order to reach its very opposite: peace...!