As Building Director of Baden in southwest Germany, Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826) had the unique opportunity to create in Karlsruhe—the capital and his native city—one of the most homogeneous architectural ensembles ever achieved by a single architect. The exhibition focuses on the impact of scientific and administrative reform on the urban and agricultural(...)
Main galleries
31 January 1990 to 18 March 1990
Friedrich Weinbrenner, Architect of Karlsruhe
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As Building Director of Baden in southwest Germany, Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826) had the unique opportunity to create in Karlsruhe—the capital and his native city—one of the most homogeneous architectural ensembles ever achieved by a single architect. The exhibition focuses on the impact of scientific and administrative reform on the urban and agricultural(...)
Main galleries
Shaping the Great City explores the role of city-building throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, both before and after its dissolution, and expands architectural history by bringing to the fore a rich variety of modernisms. In the years surrounding World War I, these strains of modernism both reflected and shaped the many national and multinational identities of the(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
14 May 2000 to 15 October 2000
Shaping the Great City: Modern Architecture in Central Europe, 1890–1937
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Shaping the Great City explores the role of city-building throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, both before and after its dissolution, and expands architectural history by bringing to the fore a rich variety of modernisms. In the years surrounding World War I, these strains of modernism both reflected and shaped the many national and multinational identities of the(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
John Soane 1753-1837
Described by Henry James as “one of the most curious things in London,” Sir John Soane’s Museum was built as the picturesque and enigmatic home, office, collector’s trove, and personal showplace of one of history’s most innovative architects. This exhibition is a major re-evaluation of Soane’s career, as well as a reconsideration of his importance to the history of modern(...)
Main galleries
16 May 2001 to 3 September 2001
John Soane 1753-1837
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Described by Henry James as “one of the most curious things in London,” Sir John Soane’s Museum was built as the picturesque and enigmatic home, office, collector’s trove, and personal showplace of one of history’s most innovative architects. This exhibition is a major re-evaluation of Soane’s career, as well as a reconsideration of his importance to the history of modern(...)
Main galleries
Nuit Blanche 2025: 38%
It is time for a systemic change in the way we design and value the built environment. The way we build is not ecologically sustainable. The building industry is responsible for 38% of the worlds annual production of greenhouse gases. During the Nuit Blanche at the CCA, we invite you to come and discuss, reflect and be inspired by the actions of the German architecture(...)
Nuit Blanche 2025
1 March 2025 to 2 March 2025, 7pm to 1am
Nuit Blanche 2025: 38%
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It is time for a systemic change in the way we design and value the built environment. The way we build is not ecologically sustainable. The building industry is responsible for 38% of the worlds annual production of greenhouse gases. During the Nuit Blanche at the CCA, we invite you to come and discuss, reflect and be inspired by the actions of the German architecture(...)
Nuit Blanche 2025
This exhibition presents American architect Ben Nicholson’s search for order, meaning, and logic in a world of art, science, and mystery. The Laurentian Library in Florence, a masterwork by Michelangelo designed in 1524–25, contains fifteen pairs of terra cotta panels bearing complex geometric patterns that have been long hidden from view. Nicholson studied the panels at(...)
Octagonal gallery
11 December 1996 to 9 March 1997
Uncovering Geometry: Ben Nicholson at the Laurentian Library
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This exhibition presents American architect Ben Nicholson’s search for order, meaning, and logic in a world of art, science, and mystery. The Laurentian Library in Florence, a masterwork by Michelangelo designed in 1524–25, contains fifteen pairs of terra cotta panels bearing complex geometric patterns that have been long hidden from view. Nicholson studied the panels at(...)
Octagonal gallery
Meditations on Piero presents contemporary sculptures by British/Canadian artist Geoffrey Smedley alongside over thirty rare books from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The sculptures draw their inspiration from a series of drawings of the human head by the great Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. The exhibition relates these drawings and(...)
Octagonal gallery
2 May 2001 to 16 September 2001
Meditations on Piero
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Meditations on Piero presents contemporary sculptures by British/Canadian artist Geoffrey Smedley alongside over thirty rare books from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The sculptures draw their inspiration from a series of drawings of the human head by the great Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. The exhibition relates these drawings and(...)
Octagonal gallery
Talking Pictures
Sophie Dars and Carlo Menon, Stefano Graziani, and Yasufumi Nakamori present strategies for reimagining and employing visual formats such as the photo essay, the photo novel, and the photo exhibition. The event takes place in the framework of an ongoing CCA research project on the relationship between architecture and photography funded by The Andrew W. Mellon(...)
13 October 2016, 6pm
Talking Pictures
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Sophie Dars and Carlo Menon, Stefano Graziani, and Yasufumi Nakamori present strategies for reimagining and employing visual formats such as the photo essay, the photo novel, and the photo exhibition. The event takes place in the framework of an ongoing CCA research project on the relationship between architecture and photography funded by The Andrew W. Mellon(...)
Marking the 10th anniversary of the CCA’s public opening, the exhibition spotlights and juxtaposes acquisitions from its first decade. Over 350 prints, drawings, photographs, rare books, manuscripts, toys, and models spanning five centuries of architectural history reflect how the built world has been imagined, conceived, and reflected upon. Dedicated to the many donors(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
24 November 1999 to 30 April 2000
En chantier: The Collections of the CCA, 1989-1999
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Marking the 10th anniversary of the CCA’s public opening, the exhibition spotlights and juxtaposes acquisitions from its first decade. Over 350 prints, drawings, photographs, rare books, manuscripts, toys, and models spanning five centuries of architectural history reflect how the built world has been imagined, conceived, and reflected upon. Dedicated to the many donors(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
Just as Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotonda helped to define for future generations the architecture of the Renaissance in Italy, so Chiswick is the locus classicus of the Palladian Revival of the eighteenth century. This exhibition follows a major architect’s thinking as he worked from source to design, from design to representation, in the making of a building which, as the(...)
Main galleries
19 July 1994 to 25 September 1994
The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswick
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Just as Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotonda helped to define for future generations the architecture of the Renaissance in Italy, so Chiswick is the locus classicus of the Palladian Revival of the eighteenth century. This exhibition follows a major architect’s thinking as he worked from source to design, from design to representation, in the making of a building which, as the(...)
Main galleries
Speed Limits
Speed Limits addresses the pivotal role played by speed in modern life: from art to architecture and urbanism to graphics and design to economics to the material culture of the eras of industry and information. It marks the centenary of the foundation of the Italian Futurist movement, whose inaugural manifesto famously proclaimed “that the world’s magnificence has been(...)
Main galleries
20 May 2009 to 8 November 2009
Speed Limits
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Speed Limits addresses the pivotal role played by speed in modern life: from art to architecture and urbanism to graphics and design to economics to the material culture of the eras of industry and information. It marks the centenary of the foundation of the Italian Futurist movement, whose inaugural manifesto famously proclaimed “that the world’s magnificence has been(...)
Main galleries