REM KOOLHAAS

17.09.1944-present
-an architect
of a kind
 Architecture is a
hazardous mixture of
omnipotence and
impotence. It is by
definition a c h a o t
i c a d v e n t u r
e... In other words,
the utopian
enterprise.
 Architectural
Association School of
Architecture
Cornell University
 OMA
Office for Metropolitan Architecture
In 2008 Time put him in their top 100 of The
World's Most Influential People.
PHILOSOPHIES AND
SELECTED WORKS
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
WRITER
ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST
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ARCHITECT
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PROFESSOR
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URBANIST

ARCHITECT
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PROFESSOR
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URBANIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
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URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
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URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
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URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI THINKER

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URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
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EXPRESSIONISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST

MODERNIST PROFESSOR
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EXPRESSIONISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI THINKER

SM MANIPULATION

EXPRESSIONISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

ARCHITECT
WRITER
JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI THINKER BUILD
OPEN
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EXPRESSIONISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

DISTORTION ARCHITECT
WRITER
MANIPULATION JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI THINKER BUILD
OPEN
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DESIGN

CONSISTENT EXPRESSIONISM
EXTENTION TO THE RATIONAL MODERNISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST

DISTORTION ARCHITECT
WRITER
MANIPULATION JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI BUILD THINKER

OPEN
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DESIGN NOT EASILY IDENTIFIABLE

CONSISTENT EXPRESSIONISM
EXTENTION TO THE RATIONAL MODERNISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST
UNIQUE
DISTORTION ARCHITECT
WRITER
MANIPULATION JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST PROFESSOR
DECONSTRUCTIVI BUILD THINKER

OPEN
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DESIGN NOT EASILY IDENTIFIABLE
SURPRISE
CONSISTENT EXPRESSIONISM
EXTENTION TO THE RATIONAL MODERNISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST
UNIQUE
DISTORTION ARCHITECT
UNCONVENTIONAL WRITER
MANIPULATION JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST FUTURE IN THE NOW
PROFESSOR
 Rem koolhaas
DECONSTRUCTIVI BUILD THINKER

OPEN
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DESIGN NOT EASILY IDENTIFIABLE
SURPRISE
CONSISTENT EXPRESSIONISM
EXTENTION TO THE RATIONAL MODERNISM
URBANIST
ARCHITECTURAL THEORIST
UNIQUE
DISTORTION ARCHITECT
UNCONVENTIONAL WRITER
MANIPULATION JOURNALIST
ORDINARY GEOMETRICAL FORM
MODERNIST FUTURE IN THE NOW
PROFESSOR
 SEATTLE
CENTRAL PUBLIC
LIBRARY
 HISTORY

The Collins Block at Henry Yesler's former mansion at The Carnegie Library, on
Second and James Third and James the site of the current
building

KOOLHAAS’S
PROPOSAL
ZONING
NORTH ELEVATION
EAST ELEVATION
WEST ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION
SITE PLAN
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 4
 The corridor walls, floors and ceilings are painted in deep reds and pinks.
The meeting rooms are calm, neutral colors- such as brown and gray.

LEVEL 4
 Light-filled.

Seating for 400.

Ceiling height – 40-foot

Views of Elliott Bay.

LEVEL 10
LEVEL 10
 RAINWATER COLLECTION –
 40,000-gallon water storage water tank
 Used for landscape irrigation.
 Prevents combined sewer overflows in Puget Sound.
 Saves about 75,000 gallons of water per year.

 WATERLESS URINALS -
The 16 urinals in the building save 720,000 gallons of water per year, enough
to serve the indoor water needs of more than 13 homes.

SUSTAINABLE SITE DESIGN

 LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION

Exterior lighting is shielded

 DROUGHT-TOLERANT LANDSCAPING
Zero potable (drinking) water is used for landscaping due to rainwater
collection system

 HEAT ISLAND REDUCTION

Providing shade to exterior spaces and a light colored Energy Star® roof that
reflects heat and light lessens this effect.
Public opinions :

 Awarded for innovation

and engineering in its
"structural solutions".

 Usage of the building is

double the predicted
volume.

 CRITICISMS- Many are

not too fond of its unusual
design.

 Condemned by the Project

for Public Spaces, which
noted "if the library were a
true 'community hub,' its
most active areas would
connect directly to the
street.
Personal Opinion

 Rigorous analysis of -
1. The site
2. The city
3. Its existing structures
4. Culture of people.

 Exploration of the capabilities of

various architectural materials
available.

 Care for the technologies from

the beginning of the project.

 Proper use of warm and cool

colors.

 Uniquesness of design

 Much to be learnt from.

APPLICATION
MAHATMA GANDHI CENTRAL LIBRARY, IIT-
R
“I'd say that my profession
ends where architectural
thinking ends - architectural
thinking in terms of thinking
about programs and
organizational structure. These
abstractions play a role in many
other disciplines, and those
disciplines are now defining