“The Strada Novissima makes architecture fun, and it has become perhaps the most significant event in the profession since Hitchcock and Johnson brought modern architecture to America with the 1932 International style exhibition.”

The Strada Novissima (new street) was the primary focal point of The Presence of the Past at the Venice Biennale. It was conceived as an urban street wall, arranged in parallel straight rows within the Corderia (a former rope factory) at the Venice Arsenale. International architects were invited to design the facade of a house, office, or public building, no higher than three stories, that responded to the “presence of the past” theme and reflected their individual architectural approach. Behind each facade was a small gallery area exhibiting drawings and photographs of the architect’s body of work.

20 facades were originally commissioned for the Strada Novissima at the Venice Biennale under curator Paolo Portoghesi.

2 facades by French architects were added when the Strada Novissima travelled to Paris.

1 facade — by Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown — then dropped out. Rumored due to damage in transit.

4 facades by Bay Area architects were commissioned to supplement the Strada Novissima in San Francisco.

Within Pier 2 of Fort Mason Center, the exhibition designers Batey & Mack chose to angle the Strada Novissima inward, creating a forced perspective. The empty space left by Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown was devoted to an “Homage to Philip Johnson.” Plans to bring Aldo Rossi’s floating Teatro del Mondo to San Francisco were thwarted by unresolved issues with fire department approvals.