Architecture in Islamic Countries. Selections from the Catalogue for the Second International Exhibition of Architecture Venice 1982/83

The second Venice Architecture Biennale, directed by Paolo Portoghesi, raised questions about a postmodernity throughout realms extending south and east from the Mediterranean, where modernity and decolonisation were converging. Though the exhibition on architecture in Islamic countries was largely forgotten, these questions are ever more relevant. Selected texts by Portoghesi, Mehdi Kowsar and Udo Kultermann from the original exhibition catalogue, which was published only in Italian, are translated for the first time for an English-speaking readership and accompanied by commentary.

Following an introduction by the editor, Esra Akcan reflects on the historical and socio-political contexts of the exhibition. In addition, Asli Çiçek and Véronique Patteeuw consider the catalogue itself from an architectural history perspective. Together, this historical and contemporary material suggests starting points for investigating this broadly overlooked biennale.