Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas is a prominent Dutch architect and architectural theorist, born on November 17, 1944, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He initially pursued writing before transitioning into architecture, graduating from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Koolhaas gained significant recognition for his seminal 1978 book, *Delirious New York*, which serves as a critical exploration of Manhattan’s architecture and urbanism. In 1975, he co-founded the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), which became known for its theoretical designs and influential projects across the globe, including urban planning initiatives in cities like Lille, France, and Fukuoka, Japan.
Koolhaas's work often critiques modern architectural practices, expressing concerns about the rise of "junkspace" and the encroachment of technology in architectural design. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Pritzker Prize in 2000 and the Royal Gold Medal in 2004. In addition to his architectural practice, Koolhaas has taught at Harvard University and has continued to engage with contemporary issues in architecture through exhibitions and writings. His personal life includes a marriage to artist and architect Madelon Vriesendorp, with whom he has two children.
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Subject Terms
Rem Koolhaas
Architect, Writer, and Theorist
- Born: November 17, 1944
- Place of Birth: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Education: Architectural Association School of Architecture, London; Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York City.
Significance: Rem Koolhaas is an award-winning architect and architectural theorist
Background
Remment (Rem) Koolhaas was born on November 17, 1944, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His father wrote both novels and screenplays, and his grandfather was a well-regarded architect. After Indonesia won its war for independence from Holland in 1952, Koolhaas’s father was invited to Jakarta to run a cultural program. For Rem, this was a major life event, which helped to shape his future thinking.
Koolhaas initially intended to be a writer like his father. He wrote for the Haase Post in the Netherlands and crafted two movie scripts. In 1972, however, he graduated from London’s Architectural Association School of Architecture and received a grant to travel and conduct research in the United States. There, he studied at Cornell University in upstate New York and at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City. The outcome of his post-graduate work was the 1978 book Delirious New York. Koolhaas himself termed the book a "retroactive manifesto for Manhattan." The book remains a seminal work on modern architecture.
In 1975 Koolhaas, his wife Madelon Vriesendor, and two other young architects founded the London-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). OMA became a significant architectural firm, creating a number of designs that, while never built, were of theoretical importance. Koolhaas is considered to be a member of the deconstructivist architectural movement.
OMA’s first important commission came in 1984, and involved the design of the National Dance Theatre in The Hague. By the 1990s, the firm was busy with international commissions ranging from a housing project in Japan to private residences in Europe. During this same period, Koolhaas wrote S, M, L, XL, which tells the story of OMA and its perspective on architecture.
Beginning in 1995, Koolhaus taught a series of seminars at Harvard University. In 2000, he won the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture; this award was followed, in 2003, by the Japan Art Association’s Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture and, in 2004, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Royal Gold Medal. In addition, Koolhaas was awarded the Chevalier de Légion d’honneur in 2001 and in 2010 he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
Life’s Work
Rem Koolhaas has built a career that spans theory and criticism as well as design of private and public places. He has written extensively on topics such as the "demise" of architecture in the twentieth century and the rise of "junkspace" (spaces such as malls which he describes as being aesthetically barren and soulless). He also abhors the idea that architecture should house "smart" technologies, which he believes are invasive.
Much of Koolhaas’s work has involved the design not only of individual structures but of urban neighborhoods. For example, based on his principles of asymmetry and unexpected uses of materials and colors, he designed a master plan for a city center in Lille, France. The plan included a combination of multiuse buildings for business, recreation, and housing (some designed by major architects) with a "Grand Palais" serving as convention center and exhibit venue at the center.
Another example of urban planning was the Nexus Housing Project in Fukuoka, Japan. This involved the design of twenty-four, three-story houses located in a two-block neighborhood. The design featured elements of Japanese architecture including a curved concrete wall that recalls the stonework of ancient buildings.
In February 2020, Koolhaas's work was exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York City in Countryside, The Future. In 2022, the famed architect was named winner of the Rolf Schock Prize.
Personal Life
Koolhaas has been married just once, to Madelon Vriesendorp. Vriesendorp, an artist and architect, was one of Koolhaas’s collaborators in the launch of the OMA. Vriesendorp is also the mother of Koolhaas’s children, Charlie and Tomas. Both of Koolhaus’s sons have artistic careers. After his marriage ended, Koolhaas became romantically involved with designer Petra Blaisse.
Bibliography
"Architects Underestimate ‘Potentially Sinister’ Smart-home Technologies says Rem Koolhaas." Dezeen Magazine. Dezeen, 15 May 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.dezeen.com/2015/05/27/rem-koolhaas-interview-technology-smart-systems-peoples-eagerness-sacrifice-privacy-totally-astonishing/>.
Enwezor, Okwui. What Is Oma: Considering Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. Rotterdam: NAi, 2004. Print.
"Interview with Star Architect Rem Koolhaas: ‘We’re Building Assembly-Line Cities and Buildings.’" Speigel Online. Spiegel Online, 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-star-architect-rem-koolhaas-we-re-building-assembly-line-cities-and-buildings-a-803798.html>.
Ouroussoff, Nicolai. "Why is Rem Koolhaas the World’s Most Controversial Architect?" Smithsonian. Smithsonian Inst., Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2015 <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-is-rem-koolhaas-the-worlds-most-controversial-architect-18254921/ - YEoC1mIDQYY6s0Xz.99>.
"Rem Koolhaas: 2000 Laureate." The Pritzker Architecture Prize. Hyatt Foundation, 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/2000>.
"Rem Koolhaas." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Rem-Koolhaas>.
Gargiani, Roberto. Rem Koolhaas/OMA. Essays in Architecture. London: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Welch, Adrian. "Rolf Schock Prize in Visual Arts 2022 Winner: Architect Rem Koolhaas." E-Architect, 7 Apr. 2022, www.e-architect.com/awards/rolf-schock-prize-in-visual-arts-2022-rem-koolhaas. Accessed 29 Sept. 2024.
Wiles, Will. "Rem Koolhaas: Junkspace." Icon. Iconeye, 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.iconeye.com/opinion/icon-of-the-month/item/10011-rem-koolhaas-junkspace>.