Opening hours: Wednesday - Saturday from 3 - 7 pm
Guided tours for groups on demand
Admission: €5 (students, members of Architekturgalerie e.V. and ICOM free)

The cities of Rome and Las Vegas stand in stark contrast to each other in terms of their architectural identities: while Rome, the former capital of the Roman Empire, is seen as ancient, elegant and multi-layered, Las Vegas, the "Sin City", is perceived as shrill, vulgar and artificial. Despite these diametric differences, both cities function as hubs of power and gambling, both in the past and in the present.

Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi and Steven Izenour revolutionised architectural theory with their work "Learning from Las Vegas", postulating that the lessons from the American desert city are just as relevant as those from the Eternal City: "Las Vegas is to the Strip what Rome is to the piazza." Fifty years after the publication of this seminal work, the exhibition "From Las Vegas to Rome" explores the dialogue between these contrasting urban contexts. Iwan Baan's photographs reveal unexpected parallels and connections between the two cities. His depictions of Las Vegas and Rome force us to ask whether we can view architecture without moral judgement - a perspective proposed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour in relation to Las Vegas - especially in the context of the environmental and social realities of the 21st century. Baan's photographs contrast and challenge conventional notions of authenticity and artificiality, ultimately questioning the validity of such polar categorisations. In this way, Iwan Baan's photographs reflect Scott Brown's, Izenour's and Venturi's call to first observe, understand and only then judge.

Iwan Baan is recognised worldwide as the most important contemporary photographer in the field of architecture and urban planning. His work thematises architecture in the social context of human activities and stories. Having worked with renowned architectural firms such as Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, SANAA, Toyo Ito, Steven Holl, Taddao Ando and Zaha Hadid, Baan has documented significant architectural projects around the world. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Vitra Design Museum and the Architecture Biennale in Venice, where he was awarded the Golden Lion in 2012 with Urban Think Tank.

The exhibition is accompanied by a new book published by Lars Müller Publishers, which is on sale at the Architekturgalerie for €45, cash only please. Some copies signed by Iwan Baan are still available.

Iwan Baan, ROME - LAS VEGAS, Bread and Circuses
With contributions by Lindsay Harris, Izzy Kornblatt, Ryan Scavnicky

We would like to thank the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their kind support.