Remment Koolhaas

Remment Koolhaas (1944) was a famous Dutch architect, architectural theorist, winner of the Pritzker Prize (2000), a representative of the neo-constructivist movement in European deconstructivism. Starting from the formal techniques and aesthetics of modernism, he proposed radical transformations of modernist models, developing the principle of Le Corbusier’s spatial framework in large-scale projects, since he believed that architecture should correspond to the current cultural situation. He dealt with the problems of urban planning, the problems of the modern city, the development of cities, developed the urban theory of dissonance.

Main structures:

• Residential building at Checkpoint Charlie, Germany, Berlin, (1980);
• Building of the National Dance Theater, Netherlands, The Hague, (1984 – 1987);
• Exhibition building “Kunsthal”, Netherlands, Rotterdam, (1987 – 1992);
• Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions, France, Lille, (1988 – 1994);
• Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum, USA, Las Vegas, (2002);
• The Netherlands Embassy, ​​Germany, Berlin, (2003);
• Central Library, USA, Seattle, (2004);
• De and Charles Wheely Theater, USA, Dallas (2004);
• House of Music, Portugal, Porto, (2005);
• CCTV Headquarters, China, Beijing, (2008).
• Complex De Rotterdam, Netherlands, Rotterdam, (2013);
• G-Star RAW Headquarters, Netherlands, Amsterdam, (2014);
• Prada Foundation Complex, Italy, Milan, (2015);
• Museum of Contemporary Art “Garage” in Gorky Park (“The Four Seasons”), Russia, Moscow, (2015);
• MacDonald warehouse – reconstruction, France, Paris, (2016);
• Fondaco dei Tedeschi complex – reconstruction, Italy, Venice, (2016);
• New building of the Axel Springer publishing house, Germany, (2016);
• National Library of Qatar, Qatar, Doha, (2017);
• Pavilion MPavilion 2017, Australia, Melbourne, (2017);
• College of Engineering CentraleSupélec – Eiffel Corps, France, Gif-sur-Yvette, (2017);
• Torre building in the Prada Foundation complex, Italy, Milan, (2018).

Features of Koolhaas’ style:

• The main style is deconstructivism;
• Originality, innovation. Search for new solutions;
• Development of the Corbusian spatial framework in multiscale projects;
• Using the inversion of the wall and the road as a substitute for filled and empty;
• Develops the theme of the network formed from walls and stripes;
• The idea ofa gap between the interior and exterior at the semantic and functional level. Combination of radically different functional content of various parts of the building, application of different architectural iconography on different floors;
• Visible demarcation of architecture from the urban grid by means of walls;
• The scale of architectural forms as an attempt to adapt architecture to the new paradigm of urbanism;
• The use of different architectural languages and their symbolic connotations in relation to each facade of the same building in order to create a diverse impression of connection with the urban environment;
• Using all kinds of finishing materials in the context of one building to create diversity.