In its first museum presentation on the West Coast, architecture studio
Bureau Spectacular has designed a large-scale installation that further
develops the studio's ideas on past, current, and future architecture
seen in the drawing insideoutsidebetweenbeyond, which SFMOMA
acquired in 2015. Led by Jimenez Lai, the Los Angeles-based Bureau
Spectacular views architecture as a medium capable of rewriting cultural
narratives. Questioning the banality of the existing typical urban
environment, Lai suggests that economic efficiency is driving its
character-less architecture — and that, as monuments to civilization,
modern cities’ ubiquitous skyscrapers reflect a predictable,
mono-cultural society. Reconsidering urban architecture inside, outside,
between, and beyond the monotonous rectangular buildings seen in most
city skylines, the exhibition offers an urban landscape littered with
surrealistic architectural forms and jarring environments. In this
installation, Lai prioritizes the value of architecture over efficiency,
imparting a more diverse urban sociology.
