Rem Koolhaas –designing the design process

Rem Koolhaasdesigning the design process

Who is Rem Koolhaas- Born in the Netherlands in 1944- Studied script writing in the Netherlands and- Architecture at the AA in London- Co-founded architecture firm OMA in 1975- Co-founded think tank AMO in 1998

Seattle public libraryhttp://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/75905404@N00/371038175/

Casa da Músicahttp://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wojtekgurak/5827545090/

CCTV HQ

Rothschild HQ http://oma.eu/media/291397/rothschildbank___oma_by_philippe_ruault_108_72.jpg

Delirious New York

Project Japan

For four decades Koolhaas hasmanaged to stay at the top of hisprofession by producing creative,ground-breaking ideas at a recordspeed - how does he do it?

“To keep thinking aboutwhat architecture could be.What I could be.”Rem KoolhaasIndex Magazine, 2000

1. Observation

1. Observation 2. Studio

1. Observation 2. Studio 3. Models

1. Observation 2. Studio 4. Archives 3. Models

1. Observation 2. Studio 4. Archives 5. Books 3. Models

1. Observation

“We look at the current moment and seewhere and in what way we could make acertain breakthrough.”Rem KoolhaasOMA in conversation, Barbican 2011

1. Observation 2. Studio

“What the OMA process focuses on is notthe creator but the critic. ”Rem KoolhaasINTELLIGENT DESIGN Can Rem Koolhaas kill the skyscraper? New Yorker, 2005

“Of course it’s easier to use materialsfrom the shelf, from the catalogue, butwe can’t be on the cutting edge if we dothat.”Kunlé AdeyemiMade by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 86

“We really want every year at least 25%of our people to be new. And we wantthem to be young, bright people.”Victor van der ChijsInside OMA, William Wiles, Icon magazine, 149, 2011

“You can walk out or you can stay thewhole night and you can work here. Youhave a freedom to continue to work.”Mark VeldmanInside OMA, William Wiles, Icon magazine, 149, 2011

1. Observation 2. Studio 3. Models

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/rmnl/207379365/in/set-72157594225306617/"When you have creative minds you get a lot of ideas.The luxury product is in the fact that we an actuallytest all of them.” Stephanie Akkaoui Inside OMA, William Wiles, Icon magazine, 149, 2011

http://atelierone.wordpress.com/project-four/ “Past reception [...] is a meeting room filled with smaller maquettes. At first glance there appear to be perspex and foam models for dozens of projects - but close up you see they’re all clearly the same site, [...], modelled over and over again.” William Wiles Inside OMA, William Wiles, Icon magazine, 149, 2011

http://atelierone.wordpress.com/project-four/

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/rmnl/207379105/ “The model [...] presents itself as a [...] complex entity composed of multitudes of ‘little persons’; it is much bigger, always richer in difference and complexity.” Albena Yaneva Made by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 26

Open Explore CloseInspired by Dave Gray, Game Storming

Inspired by Dave Gray, Game Storming

1. Observation 2. Studio 4. Archives 3. Models

http://www.archined.nl/en/reviews/2010/engels/blue-foam/ “Archiving the models allowed architects to keep the traces of creativity for a longer period of time; de- archiving them meant they could rediscover those traces of design invention that time had left intact.” Albena Yaneva Made by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 65

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/wojtekgurak/5827545090/ “The abandoned and temporarily forgotten model of the private house came up to the office and re-entered the cycles of design. Lingering on the tables of models for months, it was finally taken with new assumptions, reshaped, refreshed and adjusted.” Albena Yaneva Made by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 86

“Ten years ago the NetherlandsArchitecture Institute (NAI) proposed toacquire OMAs archive. They sent an arthistorian for four months to the officesbasement storage to make an inventoryof all the items. When the work wasdone, OMA decided not to sell. Insteadthey hired the art historian as itsarchivist.”RotorOMA/Progress free guide

1. Observation 2. Studio 4. Archives 5. Books 3. Models

“We [...] spend a lot of time on making books, which isalso part of the presentation materials. There is [...] anelement of clarifying things for ourselves.”Shohei ShigematsuMade by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 33

“Like the tables of models, the books are summaries ofthe design steps that make the material trajectory of aproject traceable. They keep some traces of exploration,and present the results of design experimentation.”Albena YanevaMade by the Ofﬁce for Metropolitan Architecture: an ethnography of design, 2009, page 72

OMA book machinehttp://www.dezeen.com/2010/05/05/oma-book-machine-at-the-architectural-association/

Conclusion

1. Observation 2. Studio 4. Archives 5. Books 3. Modelsthe OMA idea machine

“The biggest part of our work [...]disappears automatically. [...] But youcant look at these designs as waste.Theyre ideas; they will survive in books.”Rem KoolhaasWere Building Assembly-Line Cities and Buildings, Der Spiegel 2011

OMA/ProgressBarbican Art Gallery (until 19 February)

Made by the Ofﬁce of MetropolitanArchitecture – An Ethnography of DesignAlbena Yaneva

Thank you!Sjors Timmer@SjorsInformation Architect at SapientNitro ,blog at notura.com

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Rem Koolhaas –designing the design process

by Sjors Timmer

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