OfficeUS Agenda

The OfficeUS Agenda, the catalogue for the U.S. Pavilion, serves as both a guide and a counterpoint to the exhibition. Organized into stories of expertise, exchange, and export, the Agenda frames the narratives that have shaped the organizational structures and branded identity of U.S. architecture firms internationally from 1914 to 2014. The Agenda includes thirteen essays of original scholarship by authors such as Barry Bergdoll, Beatriz Colomina, Jorge Otero-Pailos, and Keller Easterling. OfficeUS, the U.S. Pavilion for the 2014 International Architecture Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia, reframes the history of U.S. architecture through the lens of export in two interrelated constructs: 'The Office' and 'The Repository.' The Repository presents 1,000 projects designed by 200 U.S. offices working abroad in a chronological archive spanning the last 100 years. Collectively, these projects tell multiple, interconnected stories of U.S. firms, typologies, and technologies, as well as a broader narrative of modernization and its global reach. The Office engages with these projects, revisiting their premises and conclusions throughout the Biennale. It functions as a laboratory staffed by a diverse group of resident design partners collaborating with outpost offices and a rotating cast of visiting experts. Together, these two components of OfficeUS create both a historical record of the U.S. contribution to global architectural thought and a platform where that record is examined by contemporary agents of disruption and critique.