When Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was announced as curator of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice, about two years ago, architects worldwide anticipated a new and lively agenda.

But after viewing the grueling main exhibition entitled “Elements of Architecture,” which spreads out over 4,000 square meters, it became clear that, this time too, the Venice Biennale had no new tidings for the world of architecture, or the world in general. No new agenda made waves in Venice’s Grand Canal. It was nothing more than a seasonal high tide that flooded the Piazza San Marco, to the delight of the tourists who happened to be there, dipping their toes in with childlike excitement.

If this is the conclusion after a Biennale when the expectations of the curator were so high, it seems we are left with no alternative other than to take a good look at the whole prestigious enterprise itself, which has been showing signs of fatigue in recent years – perhaps because it has become too satisfied and too much a part of the establishment, and just as bourgeois as we, its visitors.