Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Abstract:
The paradigm shift in architectural practice and theory, led to new models of architectural
intervention in society. In 1999, Koolhaas established AMO as a separate research and design
studio, ‘dedicated to the virtual’, and running alongside the conventional architectural practice.
This new think tank has been focused on the new socio‐political aspects of not only
architecture, but also specifically space in a more general sense. In this context, the
informational capitalism is defining new roles for the discipline of architecture. Hence, in order
to take an active role in this new realm, architect, should try to theorize new territories of
architecture and broaden the discipline of architecture at the same time. In other words, again
the architect can raise the question of social matter and moral aspects of architecture, without
being awkward. Hence, the fundamental questions of this paper are:
What is the relationship between AMO’s virtual practice and the new capitalism?
What are the impacts of this change in discipline and autonomy, on the social aspect of
architecture and how does it work? How it could/would/should be programmed in
order to be capable of contributing to the public?
Which one of the following AMO more responsible for? :
Keeping the authority and reputation of the celebrity architect (starchrict) or social
matters?
In what ways the media in AMO’s practice sets its propaganda in relation with social
practice?
What are the actual tools and strategies of AMO for this purpose? In other words, how
much new terminologies, logo designs and diagrams, are representational and to what
extent operational?
To find out the answer for these questions it’s needed to choose the projects of AMO as case
studies and analyze their socio‐political impacts. How these projects operate in regard to the
social and political issues? How much Almanakh is clear about the distribution of power in gulf?
and how does the European Union tent creates the public venue?
Bibliography:
OMA AMO Rem Koolhaas : 1996-2007 : teoría y práctica = theory and practice / [editores y
directores Fernando Márquez Cecilia y Richard Levene].
OMA AMO Rem Koolhaas 1996-2006 : delirious and more = delirio y mas: / editores y directores:
Volume 12: Almanakh, Ole Bouman, Mitra Khoubrou, Rem Koolhaas, Moutamarat.
Interview with Jennifer Sigler, Rem Koolhaas , Index magazine, New York, 2001.
OMA*AMO; What Architecture Can Do? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UViIVN6pCJ0