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Rem Koolhaas

It was a time when an innovation in materials and new design techniques created fresh
unimaginable possibilities, allowing an expressionist rebellion against the flat surfaced dominance of
the early modernist period post world war II. In the blitzed city of Rotterdam Rem Koolhaas was
born to Selinde Pietertje Roosenburg and Anton Koolhaas on the 17 th November 1944.Rem was
surrounded by strong creative influences from birth, Anton a novelist, critic and screenwriter,
inspiring his early career as a journalist; Dirk Rossenburg his grandfather a modernist architect, both
powers aided koolhass in forming his analytical and intellectual approach to design.
Born straight into a city trying to recover and re-establish itself after the blitz of world war II
Koolhaas was surrounded by poverty where basic needs where at the forefront of people's minds,
instead of architectural wonders, basic shelters were needed. This idea of functionality of the
interior and how people may interact within the structure taking priority over the aesthetics of the
exterior is apparent in Koolhaas's approach to architecture. 1
In 1952 Koolhaas's family moved to Indonesia a country in a state of chaos and ruin after 10 years of
Japanese occupation and a new liberal democracy forming social divides across the nation. Koolhaas
moved to Amsterdam in 1956 when contempory art and film were beginning and Amsterdam was
making its name as an Avant-guard city. This move influenced Koolhaas enormously during his early
days as a film writer bringing to life his art movie The White Slave that he co-produced with his
friends in 1969.
He then left the film industry to pursue writing as a journalist for the Haagse Post.in 1966 he was
invited to interview Constant Nieuwenhuys, who was to have a profound influence on koolhaas .2
Constant was a Dutch architect and painter and a situationist International member, a group of
revolutionists with their ideas rooted in Marxism. Their goal was to maximise public areas and not
just create a building but create a whole situation and environment. He created the idea of a
'covered city' as he named 'New Babylon: a utopian, anti-capitalist city creating different life
experiences he called "situations. 3Koolhaas went on to experiment with this idea of maximising
spaces and continuous spacial construction, which can be seen in his later work using looping ramps
to connect floors together with continuous planes and creating 'situations' within the transitions.

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd edn
(New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.522
2

Lootsma, Bart, Koolhaas, Constant and Dutch culture in the 1960's ([n.p]: Architectural Theory, 2007) <
http://www.architekturtheorie.eu/?id=magazine&archive_id=108> [accessed 12 November 2012]
3

Basulto, David, Rem Koolhaas: A Kind Of Architect ([n.p]: ArchDaily, 2012)


<http://www.archdaily.com/261095/rem-koolhaas-documentary-a-kind-of-architect-full-watch-online/>
[accessed 12 November 2012]

Fig.1. Ramp in Dutch Embassy in Berlin by Rem Koolhaas 4

After pursuing architecture, maybe due to Constants influence in 1968 Koolhaas went on to study
the Architectural Association school of architecture in London where in 1970 he studied the Berlin
wall for a project, already setting him apart from others choosing famous building, showing that for
Koolhaas its about the architectures purpose and not just aesthetics.5 He was drawn to the idea of
architecture as a form of liberation and that blocking people out and dividing a city creates intrigue
and curiosity to see what is on the other side.

Fig.2. Koolhaas Idea for segregating wall6

The idea of inclusion vs. exclusion is prominent in his designs where he creates sharp corners not
allowing you to see around but encouraging you forward further into the building. Playing with this
idea he then designed his own proposal for London to create an exclusive walled in zone where

Moos, Stanislaus von, 'Rem Koolhass, Office For Metropolitan Architecture: Architecture and NonArchitecture', Architecture and Urbanism, 10.217 (1988), p.12
5

Oshima, Ken Tadashi, 'Rem Koolhaas-OMA-AMO: buildings projects and concepts since 1996', Architecture
and Urbanism, 2.401 (2004), p.6
6

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd edn
(New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.8-9

everyone outsides ambition would be to be included within it, this links into Constants idea of
creating a covered city and new 'exclusive' way of living.7

Fig.3. Rem Koolhaas design for London8

In this respect Koolhaas had a very totalitarian fantasy in that he's deciding how the people will live
in the space before they are there, whereas in reality the section of the city would just expand out
into the expanse with no defined edges or wall. This realisation of not being able to contain
something I think influenced him as in his designs he extends and works out from an initial shape.
Intrigue surrounding America drew Koolhaas to study at Cornell University in New York in 1972.
Struck by the way that New York is set up in a grid like structure that enables both a rigid geometry
to the city and great diversity within each box.

Fig.4.New York Grid System9

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd edn
(New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.5
8

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd edn
(New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.10-11
9

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd edn
(New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.27

Looking at New York buildings there are general similarities throughout each in exterior appearance
but the real excitement is what takes place in the building and what can be done with the interior.

Fig.5. Buildings in New York in 1970-198010

This idea of function being the main design tool of the building and then working around it is one of
few defining features in all of Koohaas's work and can be seen in the recent completion of the CCTV
headquarters in Beijing in 2012.

Fig.6. Functions within CCTV building 11

Due to his original view on this, before ever laying a brick to a design in 1978 Koolhaas gained
acclaimed fame in the world of architecture for publishing his book 'Delirious New York' which was
very provocative in its time offering a completely new viewpoint of New York as a 'culture of
congestion.'12 In 1975 he co-founded with his wife Madelon Vriesendorp the office for Metropolitan
Architecture: an architecture firm based in Rotterdam which in 1987 helped land him his first large
project a dance theatre in the Netherlands.
Very prominent in all of Koolhaas early work is a link to Ludwig Mies Van De Rohe and the way he
builds with boxes. In Koolhaas work there is a very strong connection to Mies Farnsworth house
where he plays with the idea of inside and outside and with enclosed boxes within exposed boxes.
10

Lucan, Jacques and Cyrille Poy, 'Rem Koolhaas', Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, 385 (2011), p.36

11

Evans, Barrie, 'What's It All About?', Architects Journal, 219 (2004), p.26

12

Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large, 2nd
edn (New York: Monacelli Press, 1998) p.24

Fig.2. Farnsworth house13

Koolhaas's first works are almost variations of this building playing with the idea of absence forming
a space and using exposed boxes within enclosed houses and plays with the idea of flowing space
and the connections between spaces. This is easily seen in his 1991 Avant guard house in Paris ' Villa
Dall'Ava' and his most acclaimed small project Maison a Bordeaux where he has formed very
distinct boxes with a glass elevator connecting all the functional spaces.14 It can also be seen carried
through to his later work in 2003 in the Netherlands embassy in Berlin where he places an enclosed
box within an exposed box.

Fig.7. Maison a Bordeaux 15

Rem Koolhaas is distinguishable for many reasons one is his negative approach to context. He never
says that context doesn't have a major part to play in architecture but perhaps that is why he ignores
it.16 He believes that 'similarity is not a guarantee for contextual sensitivity and many times there is

13

National Trust, Farnsworth house ([n.p]:Farnsworth House [2012])


<http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/history.htm> [accessed 12 Nov 2012]
14

Koolhaas, Rem, OMA:Rem Koolhaas: Living, Vivre, Lieben (Basel:Birkhuser, 1998) p.62

15

OMA- Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA (Rotterdam: OMA, [2012])


<http://oma.eu/projects/1998/maison--bordeaux> [accessed 12 November 2012]
16

Lucan, Jacques and Cyrille Poy, 'Rem Koolhaas', Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, 385 (2011), p.33

no context.'17 This belief can easily been seen from his work as his designs are all so unique wherever
placed they would have the same impact. The Seattle central library constructed in 2004 displays
this, as although placed in Seattle, if placed anywhere else in the world you could have exactly the
same experience within it, linking back to Koolhaas's view the internal functionality taking priority.18
When in Seattle library the momentum of the journey changes throughout the building, lingering at
certain levels and escalators speeding up others, making it an experience through the building. This
links to his earlier cinematic days as he doesn't just design a building but a whole experience, adding
tension, climaxes and storylines to each design. This theatrical approach to design can also be seen
in the Dutch embassy with the passages winding through the whole building with corners cutting in
allowing certain views and obscuring others, adding suspense and tension almost like a corner
becomes a cut in the action/ take while walking through the building.

Fig.8. Stairway in the Dutch Embassy in Berlin19

Koolhaas works and plays with contradictions, often using opposing materials as he incorporates his
Dutch perspective on the use of materials surrounding us, consequently his buildings use cheaper
materials where possible, mixing with luxurious materials to create unusual effects not often seen.20
In his 2005 design Musica Da Casa he used both ply board and gold leaf on the inner walls of the hall
to create this, this use of materials is what sets Koolhaas apart from other traditional modernist
architects.

17

Basulto, David, Rem Koolhaas: A Kind Of Architect ([n.p]: ArchDaily, 2012)


<http://www.archdaily.com/261095/rem-koolhaas-documentary-a-kind-of-architect-full-watch-online/>
[accessed 12 November 2012]
18

OMA- Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA News (Rotterdam: OMA, [2012]) < http://oma.eu/news/>
[accessed 12 November 2012]
19

20

Evans, Barrie, 'What's It All About?', Architects Journal, 219 (2004), p.35

OMA- Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA News (Rotterdam: OMA, [2012]) < http://oma.eu/news/>
[accessed 12 November 2012]

Fig.9. Casa Da Musica hall Inner walls21

The Dasa De Musica also portrays the contrasts of open and closed spaces, the exterior appearing
very closed in but when inside the use of windows and angles gives an enlarged sense of space and
openness, common in Koolhaas's work.
When looking at many architects work, a common defining exterior style is apparent but this is
where Rem Koolhaas differs, as his buildings are not easily distinguishable as his at first glance. This
is because the defining thread in his work is the way he approaches each building as unique and the
exterior forming around the functions it has to perform. Therefore trying to place Koolhaas into a
period and technique of architecture is hard as he draws from many sources including modernism:
as his work emphasises function and his analytical method to design, formalism: for his rigid
geometric shapes, and decostructivism: as he breaks down the basic elements of architecture and
collates them in an abstract, sometimes illogical way, to create original and inventive new forms.

21

OMA- Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA News (Rotterdam: OMA, [2012]) < http://oma.eu/news/>
[accessed 12 November 2012]

Bibliography
Basulto, David, Rem Koolhaas: A Kind Of Architect ([n.p]: ArchDaily, 2012)
<http://www.archdaily.com/261095/rem-koolhaas-documentary-a-kind-of-architect-fullwatch-online/> [accessed 12 November 2012]
Evans, Barrie, 'What's It All About?', Architects Journal, 219 (2004), 24-37
Gargiani, Roberto, Rem Koolhaas/OMA (London:Routledge, 2008)
Koolhaas, Rem, Rem Koolhaas (London: Te Neus, 2002)
Koolhaas, Rem, OMA:Rem Koolhaas: Living, Vivre, Lieben (Basel:Birkhuser, 1998)
Koolhaas, Rem, Rem Koolhaas: conversations with Students, 2nd edn (New York: Princeton
Architectural press, 1996)
Koolhaas, Rem, Bruce Mau, Hans Werlemann and Jennifer Sigler, Small, Medium, Large,
Extra-Large, 2nd edn (New York: Monacelli Press, 1998)
Lootsma, Bart, Koolhaas, Constant and Dutch culture in the 1960's ([n.p]: Architectural
Theory, 2007) <http://www.architekturtheorie.eu/?id=magazine&archive_id=108>
[accessed 12 November 2012]
Lucan, Jacques and Cyrille Poy, 'Rem Koolhaas', Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, 385 (2011), 3041
Moos, Stanislaus von, 'Rem Koolhass, Office For Metropolitan Architecture: Architecture
and Non-Architecture', Architecture and Urbanism, 10.217 (1988), 11-158
National Trust, Farnsworth house ([n.p]:Farnsworth House [2012])
<http://www.farnsworthhouse.org/history.htm> [accesed 12 Nov 2012]
OMA- Office for Metropolitan Architecture, OMA News (Rotterdam: OMA, [2012])
<http://oma.eu/news/> [accessed 12 November 2012]
Oshima, Ken Tadashi, 'Rem Koolhaas-OMA-AMO: buildings projects and concepts since
1996', Architecture and Urbanism, 2.401 (2004), 6-11
Stungo, Naomi, 'Sizing Up Rem Koolhaas', RIBA Journal, 102.12 (1995), 28-29

By Daisy Denny-Higgins

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