Rem Koolhaas

DUTCH ARCHITECT
WRITTEN BY:
 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See Article History
Rem Koolhaas, (born Nov. 17, 1944, Rotterdam, Netherlands),
Dutch architect known for buildings and writings that embrace the
energy of modernity.
Koolhaas worked as a journalist before becoming an architect.
Changing his focus to architecture, from 1968 to 1972 he studied
at the Architectural Association in London, and from 1972 to 1975
he studied at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In 1975 he
formed the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) with Elia
and Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp, his wife, with
offices in Rotterdam and London.
Koolhaas first achieved recognition not as an architect but as an
urban theorist when his book Delirious New York: A Retroactive
Manifesto for Manhattan was published in 1978. The book
suggested that the architectural development of Manhattan was an
organic process created through a variety of cultural forces. In this
way, New York and other major cities functioned as
a metaphor for contemporary experience. During this period
Koolhaas and OMA frequently operated at a theoretical
and conceptual level, conceiving of varied works that remained
unbuilt, including the Parc de La Villette (1982–83) and Très
Grande Bibliothèque (1989), both in Paris. One major work that
was realized was the National Dance Theatre (1984–87) at The
Hague, which was notable for its wavy roof and clearly divided
series of spaces.
In the 1990s Koolhaas and OMA saw several important works to
fruition, including the Nexus Housing project (1989–91) in
Fukuoka, Japan; the Kunsthal (1992) in Rotterdam; a private
residence (1994–98) in Bordeaux, France; and the Educatorium
(1993–97), a multipurpose building at the University of
Utrecht, Netherlands. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who
developed a distinctive aesthetic, Koolhaas did not establish a
constant look from project to project. Instead, he created
architecture that, utilizing the best of modern technology and
materials, spoke to the needs of a particular site and client. For
instance, the Bordeaux house, made for a client in a wheelchair,
utilized a dramatic glass room that acted as an elevator between
the levels of the house. In these commissions, Koolhaas refused to
refer to past styles (he called for an “end to sentimentality”),
choosing instead to engage directly with the true gritty character of
the modern world. For example, his Kunsthal dramatically
engages with urban modernity through its electronic billboard and
orange steel components.
The combination of Koolhaas’s theoretical writings with his
fondness for asymmetry, challenging spatial explorations, and
unexpected uses of colour led many to classify him as
a deconstructivist. However, his work, unlike that of other
deconstructivists, does not rely heavily on theory, and it is imbued
with a strong sense of humanity and a concern for the role that
architecture plays in everyday life, particularly in an
urban context. This grounding in reality was reflected in
Koolhaas’s keen interest in urban planning, most notably in a
master plan for a new city centre in Lille, France (1985–95),
through which he transformed Lille into a business, entertainment,
and residential centre. His celebrated Grand Palais, an elliptical
structure utilizing plastic and aluminum, was at the centre of this
plan.
Koolhaas’s second book, S, M, L, XL (1995), chronicles the
accomplishments of OMA and architecture at the end of the 20th
century. At the turn of the 21st century, Koolhaas and OMA
received numerous commissions. Among the most noteworthy
were a series of international stores for the Prada fashion house,
the Netherlands embassy (1997–2003) in Berlin, a student centre
at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1997–2003) in Chicago,
the Seattle (Washington) Public Library (1999–2004), and the
headquarters for Beijing’s state-owned China Central Television
(CCTV; 2004–08). The CCTV building, noted for its angular-loop
shape, is the centrepiece of a complex including the Koolhaas-
designed Mandarin Oriental hotel, which was under construction
when it was severely damaged by fire in 2009.
Beginning in 1995, Koolhaas taught graduate seminars at Harvard
University. Among his many honours was the Pritzker Prize in
2000; the foundation’s president, Thomas J. Pritzker, described
him as “a prophet of a new modern architecture.” In 2003
Koolhaas was awarded the Japan Art Association’s Praemium
Imperiale prize for architecture, and in 2004 he was awarded the
Royal Institute of British Architects’ Royal Gold Medal.

The Transformer combined the four sides of a

tetrahedron: hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle into
one pavilion. The building, entirely covered with a
smooth elastic membrane, was flipped using cranes,
completely reconfiguring the visitor’s experience with
each new programme. Each side plan was precisely
designed to organize a different event installation
creating a building with four identities. Whenever one
shape becomes the ground plan, the other three shapes
become the walls and the ceiling defining the space, as
well as referencing historic or anticipating future event
configurations.

“Waist Down - Skirts by Miuccia Prada”, an ongoing

project by Miuccia Prada in collaboration with AMO,
made its Korean debut on April 25th 2009, showcasing a
collection of skirts “in motion” ranging from the first
ever Prada show to the recent collections. Skirts by
emerging Korean fashion students were also included
to show the interaction between two fashion worlds and
to amplify the meaning of fashion from different cultural
perspectives.