REM KOOLHAS

Group 2:

Juliya Joseph
Nandana S M
Born: 17 November 1944, Netherlands

Dutch architect known for buildings and writings that

embrace the energy of modernity.

Founder: Office for Metropolitan Architecture

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.
Koolhaas did not establish a constant look from project His buildings and his books do, however, have
to project. Instead, he created architecture that, utilizing something that makes them recognisable as products
the best of modern technology and materials, spoke to from OMA. Products that are very much influenced by
the needs of a particular site and client. the process of their creation, a bottom up,
labour-intensive, research-lead way of questioning
The combination of Koolhaas’s theoretical writings with everything. His products are assemblies, where Koolhaas
his fondness for asymmetry, challenging spatial refuses to give easy answers, and instead reveals a
explorations, and unexpected uses of colour led many to selection of evidence and demands from the spectators
classify him as a deconstructivist. to form their own interpretations.

Koolhaas and his team have been working on a structure

However, his work, unlike that of other
that is capable of searching the world for opportunities
deconstructivists, does not rely heavily on theory, and it
where change is happening faster than anywhere else,
is imbued with a strong sense of humanity and a concern places where breakthroughs can be made.
for the role that architecture plays in everyday life,
particularly in an urban context.
Design process
● Model-making at OMA helps navigate the conflicting demands of client needs, time pressures,
environmental factors, and more. These physical models turn constraints and ideas into tangible
representations.
● Each model incorporates various elements like historical context, zoning laws, structure, and user
experience. They serve as a collective entity that balances multiple, often contradictory, demands.
● Through iterative model-making, OMA explores numerous potential futures. These models evolve, merge,
and adapt, allowing for continuous refinement and innovation.
● By producing many detailed models, OMA delays final decisions, keeping the design process flexible. This
approach increases the chances of discovering groundbreaking concepts.
● The models represent the dynamic nature of the studio, constantly evolving towards more refined and
intelligent design ideas.
● During the research phase, books compile photos, diagrams, texts, and schemes, acting as a comprehensive
resource for the design team.
● Creating books also helps clarify ideas for the designers, functioning as both presentation material and a
method of internal understanding.
● Books serve as archives that document each step of the design process. They store insights and allow
designers to revisit and rethink previous decisions.
● Unlike other firms, OMA has perfected the art of combining book production with architectural practice,
operating both at a massive scale. This dual approach supports and enhances their design process.
CORBODA CONGRESS
Architects: OMA
CENTER Area:
Year: 2002
Location: Cordoba, Spain

Competition-winning design by OMA for a new congress

centre.Located on the Miraflores Peninsula, facing
Cordoba's historic city center (UNESCO World Heritage
Site).Proposed a new location on a narrow East-West strip
on the peninsula, taking advantage of its urban
qualities.Acts as a buffer between the Miraflores Peninsula
and the planned Fluvial Park.Organizes disparate elements
(Miraflores Peninsula, river, and historic center) into a
coherent urban grouping.Extends benefits of Cordoba's old
town to the rest of the city.
● The building is a continuous open-air promenade, functioning as a linear viewing platform.
● Provides views of the park, river, and historic center, including impressive views of the Mesquita from the roof
terrace.Roof terrace includes a swimming pool and a pebble garden.
● Described as a programmatic beam, hollowed out for public facilities and separated for auditoria.Re-converges to
define the hotel lobby and is sliced to allow the San Fernando route to pass through from the old city.Cantilevers to
mark the formal entrance to the Congress Center.
● Bridges the east and west banks of the river, creating a route connecting visitors to the historic center.Ramps,
escalators, and stairs channel the public through congress areas, conference halls, an outdoor auditorium, café, hotel
facilities and shops.

● Standard U-plank glass is modified into green, bubbled material.

● The façade breaks sharp southern sunlight, providing interiors with a diffuse atmosphere.
SEATTLE CENTRAL
LIBRARY Architect: OMA, LMN
Area: 38300m²
Year: 2004
Location: Seattle, United States
The library is no longer just dedicated to books but is
an "information store" presenting all forms of media
equally.The library's vitality in the digital age comes
from curating content and ensuring the simultaneity
of all media.Traditional flexibility in libraries involves
generic floors, leading to spaces that become cramped
as collections grow.Instead of ambiguous flexibility,
the library should be organized into spatial
compartments dedicated to specific duties, allowing
tailored flexibility without sections hindering each
other.
● The design approach involved consolidating the ● The building design modifies the typical
library's diverse programs into clusters: five of American high-rise, making it sensitive to light
stability and four of instability(It is composed of and shade, contextual to its urban surroundings,
five platforms and four flowing planes wrapped in and iconic in form.Each side of the building
a steel diagrid façade. ).Each platform is designed reacts differently to urban conditions or desired
for a unique purpose, with variations in size, views.
flexibility, circulation, palette, structure, and ● The Book Spiral reclaims the Dewey Decimal
MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing System by arranging the collection in a
systems). continuous ribbon from 000 to 999.This
● The spaces between platforms function as trading arrangement allows subjects to coexist and evolve
floors for librarians to inform and stimulate users, organically, with each section occupying space
facilitating work, interaction, and play. relative to the others without causing disruptions.
The building’s glass and metal skin began with the simple
concept of wrapping the entire building in a continuous layer
of transparency. Made to unify shifting planes of glass, a
diamond module system was used for the mullion framing
throughout the envelope. The curtain wall glazing system was
built with numerous components, from I-beam latticed steel
and aluminum splice plates to threaded rod attachments. The
façade panels were fabricated entirely in Germany and then
shipped to Seattle for installation.

BIM was used to model the library’s complex building skin

system, which consists of thousands of glass panels over a steel
web. Steel was digitally-scanned daily to create a 3D as-built
model.
CASA DA MUSICA Architects: OMA
Area: 22000 m²
Location: Porto, Portugal
Year: 2005
Architectural concept

Most cultural institutions serve only part of a

population. A majority knows their exterior shape,
only a minority knows what happens inside. OMA
addressed the relationship between the Concert
Hall and the public inside as well as outside the
building by considering the building as a solid
mass from which were eliminated the two
shoe-box-shaped concert halls and all other public
program creating a hollowed out block. The
building reveals its contents to the city without
being didactic; at the same time the city is exposed
to the public inside in a way that has never
happened before.
● he Casa da Musica addresses the challenge of breaking
away from the traditional "shoe-box" concert hall design,
aiming to redefine the relationship between the concert
hall's interior and the public outside.
● The building has a unique faceted form made of white
concrete, standing as a solitary structure on a
travertine-paved plateau in front of the historic Rotunda
da Boavista in Porto.
● The main feature is a 1,300-seat Grand Auditorium with a
traditional shoe-box shape. The auditorium's corrugated
glass facades at either end open the space to the city, using
Porto as a dramatic backdrop for performances.
● The decision to place the Casa da Musica outside the ring
of old buildings defining the Rotunda, near a working-class
area, was key in addressing symbolism, visibility, and
access.
● Besides the Grand Auditorium, the building includes a
smaller, flexible performance space, ten rehearsal rooms,
recording studios, an educational area, a restaurant, bars, a
VIP room, administration spaces, and an underground car
park for 600 vehicles.
● The design of the Casa da Musica aims to engage with the
city and its inhabitants, offering transparency and casting
the city in a new light through its architecture.
The Casa da Musica features creative material and color choices
throughout:

● The Grand Auditorium has curtain-like glass walls at either

end and walls clad in plywood with gold-embossed, enlarged
wood patterns.
● The VIP area is adorned with hand-painted tiles depicting a
traditional pastoral scene.
● The roof terrace is patterned with geometric black and white
tiles.
● Public area floors are sometimes paved in aluminum.

The building deliberately avoids a large central foyer, opting instead

for a continuous public route that connects spaces around the Grand
Auditorium through stairs, platforms, and escalators, creating an
exploratory architectural experience.

The project was initiated after Porto was selected as one of the
cultural capitals of Europe in 2001. The Minister of Culture and the
city of Porto founded Porto 2001 to drive urban and cultural
interventions, including the new concert hall.

OMA, along with four other international architectural practices,

was invited to participate in a restricted competition to design the
new concert hall in Porto's historic Rotunda da Boavista.
CCTV HEADQUARTERS IN Architects: OMA
Area: 473000 m²
BEIJING Location: Beijing, China
Year: 2012
CCTV defies the skyscraper’s typical quest for
ultimate height. Rising from a common platform,
two towers lean towards each other and eventually
merge in a perpendicular, 75- metre cantilever. The
design combines the entire process of TV-making –
formerly scattered in various locations across the
city – into a loop of interconnected activities.

The structure of the CCTV Headquarters, and the

forces at work within it, is visible on its façade: a web
of diagonals that becomes dense in areas of greater
stress, looser and more open in areas requiring less
support. The façade itself becomes a visual
manifestation of the building’s structure.
● The building's design aims to challenge and move beyond the
conventional skyscraper typology. It seeks to address the
diminishing purpose and relevance of traditional high-rises.
● Instead of two separate towers like the original World Trade
Center (WTC), this building features a single, integrated loop
where two towers merge. This design symbolizes a departure
from the traditional vertical tower approach.
● The building consists of two towers that lean against each
other. They are connected by a 75-metre cantilevered linking
element on the upper floors, creating a distinctive architectural
form.
● The design is described as a "three-dimensional cranked loop,"
providing a continuous flow for employees and visitors to move
through the building without obstruction, enhancing
functionality and experience.
● Standing at 234 meters tall, the building's unconventional
design contrasts with the typical vertical skyscraper,
emphasizing connectivity and integration rather than height
competition.
 ● This reinvention of a familiar typology aligns with the ● The building's exterior features a web of triangulated
definition of deconstructivism as a movement focused on steel braces, forming an irregular grid that provides
breaking the rules of modern architecture. the primary structural support. The density of this
grid varies, with denser areas supporting greater
loads, visually expressing the forces within the
● The building's form is driven by its function, with each structure.
area specifically dedicated to a particular purpose. The
design is closely tied to the needs of the building's users.
● The design addresses challenges such as
wind-induced movement, seismic activity, and
● A 10,000-square-metre lobby, connected to the Beijing temperature-related expansion and contraction. The
subway, is located within a podium structure called The two towers had to be joined at a specific time in the
Plinth. This podium includes three underground floors morning when both were at a uniform temperature
and three floors above ground. It also contains twelve to ensure structural integrity.
studios dedicated to television production, the building's
core function.

The building consists of two towers rising from the podium: ● The towers are connected at the top by a ten-storey
cantilevering bridge called the Overhang. This
● One tower houses editing areas and offices. linking element serves administrative purposes and
● The other tower is dedicated to news broadcasting. also houses restaurants, cafes, and an observation
deck.
● The building is covered in fritted glazing, which reduces
heat from the sun and gives the structure a soft, silver-grey
appearance that blends with Beijing's often polluted skies.
● The building's unusual shape has drawn criticism and is
locally nicknamed "big pants" due to its distinctive
appearance.
● The building is an example of the bold architectural designs
that emerged in China during the early 2000s construction
boom, often involving prominent European architects.
● In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized "weird
architecture" in China, though he didn't specifically mention
this building.
● Architect Rem Koolhaas defended the design, stating that
the building introduces innovative structural concepts and
benefits Chinese culture and architecture.
THANK YOU