Office for Metropolitan Architecture
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The Office for Metropolitan Architecture, in short OMA, is the Rotterdam based architecture firm of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The firm was founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis with Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.
Founding
Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis started working together in the early seventies at the Architectural Association, the London-based architecture school where Koolhaas was a student and Zengelis an instructor. Their first major project was the utopian/dystopian project Exodus, or the Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture (1972). This project proposed a linear structure, cutting through London like a knife. Other pre-OMA projects include City of the Captive Globe (1974), Hotel Sphinx (1975), New Welfare Island/Welfare Palace Hotel (1975-76), Roosevelt Island Redevelopment (1975), all ‘paper’ projects that were not (intended to be) built, and all located in Manhattan, the subject of Rem Koolhaas’ famous book Delirious New York, A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan (1975).The actual start of OMA and the setting up of the Rotterdam office coincided with their entry in the architectural design competition for a new Dutch parliament building in The Hague (1978, with Zaha Hadid). OMA was one of the first-prize winners (among some 10 others), and the project was widely discussed and published. The commission, however, was given to an architect who did not participate in the competition. The entry for the Dutch parliament competition was the first of a series of controversial and successful international competition entries by OMA in the 1980s that were not built by OMA.
OMA in the 1980s
OMA's first major commissions were The Netherlands Dance Theatre (1981) in The Hague and IJ-Plein Urban planning (1981-1988) in Amsterdam. Due to change of location a second design for the Dance Theatre was made in 1984. Once completed in 1987, the building received international attention. Although full of ‘first mistakes’, the Dance Theatre is the first realised design in which the ideas of Rem Koolhaas were made apparent. IJ-plein is located at the IJ river, opposite the city center. The masterplan consists of 1300 dwellings and several facilities. OMA designed the school, the community center and two blocks of housing. Although IJ-plein was a success, Koolhaas hardly ever mentions the design anymore.Apart from these two noteworthy projects few designs were realised in the 80s: a police station in Almere (1982-1985), a bus station in Rotterdam (1985-1987, demolished in 2005), Byzantium apartment block in Amsterdam (1985-1991) and Checkpoint Charlie Housing in Berlin (1984-1990). None of these designs however could match the two houses, one in Rotterdam, one in Paris. The first house was a duo of "Miesian" patio villas (1985-1988) inserted in a dike in Rotterdam. The second – and arguably the best, most full-grown design of OMA until that date – is Villa Dall’Ava in Paris (1984-1991). The client – according to Koolhaas - asked for a "masterpiece". He wanted a glass house. She wanted a swimming pool on the roof. They got both, and the masterpiece in the bargain. But it took some time. So many delays plagued the house that it "became a record of our own (OMA’s) growing up" (Koolhaas in S,M,L,XL).
Several studies were made during the 80s: Study for the renovation of a panopticon prison in Arnhem in 1979, Boompjes tower slab in Rotterdam (1979), Housing for Berlin IBA (1980, not realised and the reason OMA would not design anything in Berlin anymore in the 20th century, the Dutch Embassy Building being the come-back), masterplan for a world exhibition in Paris (1983). Much more important however were the competition entries OMA designed in this period. They gained the office international fame (but not one design was actually built).
21st Century OMA
The OMA was awarded the contract for the Seattle Central Library, completed in 2005, despite not having been on the list of firms originally invited to submit designs. Former Seattle resident Joshua Ramus, a partner, heard from his mother about the meeting for interested firms and flew in from the Netherlands.
This 11-story glass and steel building is a striking addition to the Seattle cityscape, although many local residents find the exterior somewhat cold and uninviting for a library.
Works
European Flag Proposal
Following the signing of Treaties of Nice in May 2001, which made Brussels the official capital of Europe, the then President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi and the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt invited Koolhaas to discuss the necessities and requirements of a European capital.
During these talks and as an impetus for further discussion, Koolhaas and OMA suggested the development of a visual language. This idea inspired a series of drawings and drafts, including the "Barcode". The barcode unites the flags of the EU countries into a single colourful symbol.
In the current European flag, there is a fixed number of stars. In the barcode however, new Member States of the EU can be added without space constraints. Originally, the barcode displayed 15 EU countries. In 2004, the symbol was adapted to include the ten new Member States.
Since the time of the first drafts of the barcode it has never been officially used by commercial or political institutions. During the Austrian EU Presidency 2006 it is officially used for the first time. The logo has already been used for the EU information campaign which will also be continued during the Austrian EU Presidency. There was initially some uproar caused, as the stripes of the flag of Estonia were displayed incorrectly.
External links
- [Office for Metropolitan Architecture]
- [BBC News | On OMA's flag proposal]
- [FOTW | Entry on flag proposal]
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