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Rem Koolhaas y Rafael Moneo son dos ejemplos de arquitectos que respaldan su práctica con teoría fundamentada en la investigación en torno al proyecto y la formatividad del objeto arquitectónico. Tomando como referencia el proyecto de la torre entre las calles 22 y 23 de OMA y los laboratorios de la Universidad de Columbia de Moneo, ambos para Manhattan, el objetivo es discernir los parámetros discursivos desde los que actúan ambos arquitectos y que plasman en sus escritos, mostrando métodos y campos de conocimiento desde los que desarrollan sus argumentos. La hipótesis que se demuestra es que el manhattanismo, la especulación teórica que desarrolla Koolhaas en Delirious New York (2004), proporciona referencias formales al proyecto, mientras que las claves teóricas que se desvelan en el proyecto de Moneo, se encuentran en sus textos Inquietud teórica y estrategia proyectual… (2004b) y Sobre la arbitrariedad en arquitectura (2005). Dichos escritos funcionan como subtextos de los proyectos. Del análisis en paralelo de los dos proyectos se concluye que el manhattanismo, teoría según la cual la arquitectura de los rascacielos de Manhattan se basa en parámetros pragmáticos y una envolvente de programas múltiples, se traduce en la torre de OMA en un programa icónico que, en su intento de ilustrar la teoría, entra incluso en contradicciones con esta. Por otro lado, el proyecto de Moneo resulta también una suerte de interpretación de parámetros pragmáticos de la situación encontrada y, sin embargo, se demuestra que la forma en absoluto carece de artisticidad y atributos que pertenecen al mundo subjetivo y fundamentos teóricos recurrentes del autor.

This article deals with the topic of void as a design instrument and theory in architectural design, with a focus on Rem Koolhaas and his specific void design approach. The primary goal is to examine Koolhaas’ perception and usage of void as a design element to continue his theory of the Strategy of the Void I and II by creating some novel design strategies similar to his. To achieve this, the topic of void was broadly analyzed, reaching from the analysis and interpretation of various writings and theoretical works to four pivotal void-projects from Koolhaas. As a result, a genealogy surrounding Koolhaas’ Strategy of the Void I and II has emerged alongside four distinct design strategies which are named after their used void design action of (a) juxtaposition, (b) superposition, (c) cutting, and (d) excavating. Each of these strategies can be used to create a specific design outcome such as (a) an overarching concept, (b) a connection between entities (circulation), (c) architectural spaces, and (d) a contrast. Moreover, it was found that the former two strategies can be categorized as preceding and the latter two as proceeding void design strategies in relation to Koolhaas’ original ones.

En el libro Koolhaas (auto)editado. Del delirio a los elementos Belén Butragueño aborda con meticulosidad y rigor la figura de Rem Koolhaas, no tanto desde la perspectiva de sus realizaciones arquitectónicas, o de su contribución teórica a la arquitectura, sino focalizando su capacidad comunicadora. Esta obra, derivada de su tesis doctoral, se presenta como un detallado estudio sobre cómo la comunicación se refleja en la producción arquitectónica, y viceversa.

“Cities on the Move” fue una exposición itinerante de arte comisariada por Hans-Ulrigh Obrist y Hou Hanru dedicada a las emergentes ciudades de Asia. La sexta edición tuvo lugar en 1999 en Bangkok, una ciudad que aún se estaba recuperando de una grave crisis financiera. Por aquel entonces, la capital tailandesa carecía de recintos expositivos aptos para muestras internacionales. Sin embargo, tal inconveniente se convirtió en una oportunidad para exponer las obras de arte en el mismo contexto urbano para el que habían sido concebidas. El acontecimiento tuvo lugar en un contexto no-occidental que se encontraba en el apogeo de su particular encarnación de la Postmodernidad, un período histórico en el que la globalización estaba en una fase incipiente y el ascenso de China era aún una mera promesa. El manifiesto de los comisarios, así como el montaje expositivo de la muestra, estuvieron marcadamente influidos por las visionarias ideas del arquitecto holandés Rem Koolhaas acerca del vertiginoso desarrollo en ciernes de Asia. Este evento no ha recibido hasta la fecha una atención equiparable a la de otras ediciones que contaron con mejores medios y atención por parte7 de la crítica. Casi veinticinco años después, examinamos a través de la lente de la arquitectura las condiciones que acompañaron a la Sexta Edición de “Cities on the Move” en Bangkok, evaluando su legado como un acontecimiento crucial en el arte contemporáneo y los estudios urbanos en Asia. Abstracts “Cities on the Move” was an itinerant art exhibition curated by Hans-Ulrigh Obrist and Hou Hanru that versed about modern urbanity in Asia. The sixth edition took place in 1999 in Bangkok, a city that was still recovering from a severe financial crisis. At that time, the Thai capital lacked exhibition venues fit for international shows. However, such inconvenience turned into an opportunity to display the artworks right at the urban realm for which they had been created. The event took place in a non-Western setting at the cusp of its particular stance of Postmodernity, at a time when globalization was in its nascent stages and the rise of China was a mere promise. The curatorial manifest, as well as the setup of the itinerant show, was markedly influenced by architect Rem Koolhaas and his vision about the upcoming development of Asia. To date, the Bangkok event has not received the same attention as other editions that enjoyed better support and attention by worldwide critics. Almost twenty-five years later, we examine through the lens of architecture the conditions that accompanied the Sixth Edition of “Cities on the Move”, assessing the significance of its legacy as a pivot moment in contemporary art and urban studies in Asia.

“Cities on the Move” was an itinerant art exhibition curated by Hans-Ulrigh Obrist and Hou Hanru that versed about modern urbanity in Asia. The sixth edition took place in 1999 in Bangkok, a city that was still recovering from a severe financial crisis. At that time, the Thai capital lacked exhibition venues fit for international shows. However, such inconvenience turned into an opportunity to display the artworks right at the urban realm for which they had been created. The event took place in a non-Western setting at the cusp of its particular stance of Postmodernity, at a time when globalization was in its nascent stages and the rise of China was a mere promise. The curatorial manifest, as well as the setup of the itinerant show, was markedly influenced by architect Rem Koolhaas and his vision about the upcoming development of Asia. To date, the Bangkok event has not received the same attention as other editions that enjoyed better support and attention by worldwide critics. Almost twenty-five years later, we examine through the lens of architecture the conditions that accompanied the Sixth Edition of “Cities on the Move”, assessing the significance of its legacy as a pivot moment in contemporary art and urban studies in Asia.

This article focuses on the potential of void as a design instrument on different levels. The goal is to present a conscious void design strategy with void as the driving design element. To achieve this, void as a term and design technique was broadly analyzed. Reaching from its definition, interpretation, perception, and typology to a case study analysis, the focuses is on four projects each from Ungers and Koolhaas. Three topics were synthesized from this analysis concerning the manifestation of the void, its characteristics, and finally its usage as a design strategy. First, it was identified that void can be perceived and interpreted differently, manifesting itself in various ways, such as a one-, two-, or three-dimensional object. Second, the characteristics of void can be termed as programmatic flexibility and incompleteness: the possibility of void to contain multiple programs and to establish relationships with its program to its surroundings. Third, two design strategies were derived: “collaging solid figures” and “collaging void figures.” The first generates void indirectly by collaging solids, whereby the void is generated in between, and the latter generates void directly by collaging the void itself.

This paper explores the networks of thoughts behind words by reading architectural texts in the context of linguistics. Using a corpus-based model, our main interest is what the collocational data contribute at an architectural level. The notion of “collocation identification in architecture” was drawn from an analysis of the use of the data for Rem Koolhaas. The data for this study were collected from Rem Koolhaas's articles from 1977 to 2014. An analysis of Koolhaas's ideas about architecture and urban planning was conducted using the AntConc 3.4.4.0 corpus analysis toolkit. The corpus-based model reduced selected articles to words and lexical bundles using the corpus analysis toolkit. This paper explores Koolhaas's thoughts on understanding architecture and the metaphors he uses by analyzing articles using the corpus-based analysis model. The discourse codes in the texts of Koolhaas are examined. A corpus-based model proposal tested on architectural texts has the potential to create new areas of knowledge for architectural discourse. Deciphering the texts and analyzing the codes contribute to the development of new models.

Between 1984 and 1998, OMA produced a series of small-scale domestic projects. Rem Koolhaas uses ces maison as a tool for reflection, allowing him to explore the ‘hedonistic dimension’ that characterises the architecture of the Modern Movement. Among the spaces that stand out in this lineage connecting the Dutch architect to the great masters, the bathroom is a particularly rich universe. In the work of Koolhaas, water is the central focus in the ongoing research intended to transcend strictly hygienic, functional considerations to define a genuine ritual choice of dimensions, perceptive relations, circulation paths and materials.

La Bienal de Arquitectura de Venecia es uno de los eventos más importantes al mundo para la arquitectura y el debate disciplinario. Dos de las pasadas bienales: la que tuvo como curador el holandés Rem Koolhaas en 2014 y la curada por el chileno Alejandro Aravena en 2016; con sus marcadas diferencias y oposiciones, son utilizadas como pretexto para una reflexión crítica sobre dos tendencias que pudieran definirse “hemisféricas”. La bienal de Koolhaas presentó una valiosa investigación histórico-enciclopédica, que emanaba una latente inquietud. La bienal de 2016, la primera Bienal curada por un arquitecto del “hemisferio sur” del mundo, intentaba de contra mostrar en su amplitud un panorama de trabajos socialmente más comprometidos, pero a su vez sesgaba hacia un exceso de pragmatismo. Posiblemente valorar en una reflexión comparativa estos dos enfoques pueda restituir más nitidez al pensamiento y a la acción, gracias a la síntesis entre posiciones antitéticas que, por si mismas parecen no abrazar el amplio espectro de las posibilidades y de las necesidades disciplinarias contemporáneas.

The paper reviews Rem Koolhaas’ architectural theory of manhattanism, gives a definition of personalized architectural theory and determines its classification features using Rem Koolhaas’ theory as an example.

Resumen Geert Bekaert nació en 1928 en Kortrijk, Bélgica, y escribió profusamente sobre arquitectura a lo largo de su vida, mayoritariamente en su idioma neerlandés, y sus ensayos se han recogido en nueve volúmenes publicados entre 1985 y 2011. El propio año 2011, cinco años antes de su muerte acontecida en 2016, ha aparecido un libro recopilatorio en inglés cuyo título es Rooted in the Real, editado por su discípulo Christophe Van Gerrewey. Este examina en la Introducción la trayectoria del crítico belga y proporciona ciertas claves sobre sus intereses y la repercusión de sus ideas, destacando el compromiso de Bekaert con su lengua original y el hecho de que, geográficamente, se sitúe entre un país sin apenas tradición arquitectónica como Bégica y otro con una concentración extraordinaria de producción y teoría de arquitectura moderna como es Holanda. El libro se divide en cuatro partes: la primera dedicada a temas generales de la arquitectura, la segunda al comentario sobre una serie de arquitectos belgas y las dos restantes la obra de distintos arquitectos relevantes en el ámbito internacional, desde Le Corbusier a Rem Koolhaas. El título elegido para la antología se basa, según el editor, en la concepción de la arquitectura por parte de Geert Bekaert como una forma esencial de crear realidad, es decir, en su creencia de que la arquitectura actúa fundamentalmente como mediador, haciendo la vida, si no mejor, más soportable y aceptable.

Abstract Geert Bekaert was born in 1928 in Kortrijk, Belgium, and wrote extensively about architecture throughout his life, mostly in his Dutch language; his essays have been collected in nine volumes published between 1985 and 2011. That same 2011, five years before his death in 2016, his disciple Christophe Van Gerrewey edited a book compilation in English; it was entitled Rooted in the Real and in its introduction, this editor examines the trajectory of the Belgian critic and provides certain clues about his interests and the repercussion of his ideas, highlighting Bekaert´s commitment to its original language and the fact that he is situated geographically between a country with hardly any architectural tradition as Belgium and another with an extraordinary concentration of production and theory on modern architecture such as the Netherlands. The book is divided into four parts: the first one is committed to general themes of architecture, the second to commentaries on a series of Belgian architects and the other two to the work of different relevant international architects, from Le Corbusier to Rem Koolhaas. According to the editor, the title of the anthology was chosen based on Geert Bekaert´s conception of architecture as an essential way to create reality, that is, in his belief that architecture acts fundamentally as a mediator, making life, if not better, at least more bearable and acceptable.

Seelow, AM. Review of: Magnus Brechtken, 'Albert Speer. Eine deutsche Karriere', Munich: Siedler Verlag, 2017. Andersen, A. Review of: 'ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΑΝA/September 55', Keller Gallery, Cambridge, MA, 2016; !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival, Istanbul, 2017. Van Gerrewey, C. Review of: 'Stedelijk Base', Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 2017. Popescu, C. Review of: 'Shrinking Cities in Romania', National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, 2016.

Rem Koolhaas (1944- ) and Álvaro Siza (1933- ) are two of the most significant living architects in contemporary architecture. They have been devoted to architectural creation for a long period of time and produced a great number of works of high quality and originality. It is not surprising that Koolhaas and Siza came to Asia for architectural practice in 2002 and 2005, respectively. In the past few decades, research on Koolhaas’ and Siza’s architectural works mainly focused on their works in Europe and America. Although there were some individual reports on Koolhaas’ and Siza’s activities and works in Asia, they lacked of systematic investigation and analysis, not to mention cross region comparisons. Being highly respected, the modification and/or transformation of their design ideas, thinking, processing, and making, i.e. their architectural strategies including design strategies and management strategies for Asian cultures and regions constitute important sources for exploration in the architectural history and theory. After the investigation on Siza’s architectural works in Asia (Liou, 2012, 2013, 2014a, 2014b), the present study attempts to extend the accumulated experiences and analyse the work of Koolhaas as a case subject, and furthermore to conduct comparative analysis on the style and design of the two architects. Specifically, in this paper, Koolhaas’ design strategies and management strategies for his Asian architectural works are studied. His design strategies include OMA’s design process, public urban space, architectural typology (high-rise building and theater), skin material, and plane material. The management strategies consist of OMA’s partnership, network of international collaboration and Asian strategy. Finally, the design strategies and management strategies of Koolhaas’ and Siza’s are compared. It might be argued that the architectural strategies employed by Koolhaas and Siza constitute the two ends of the spectrum for those western architects who came to Asia for practice; some architects like Zaha Hadid and MVRDV are closer to Koolhaas and some like Vittorio Gregotti and Steven Holl are closer to Siza.

La arquitectura en su vocación de arte cívico ha sentido la necesidad de educar a las masas en el entendimiento de determinados lenguajes, encontrando en los recintos expositivos el ámbito más propicio para la difusión de conocimiento. Las exposiciones de arquitectura se han convertido en un evento eficaz para el ejercicio de la pedagogía de masas. Desde las primeras exposiciones universales hasta la creación de los grandes museos y centros culturales, como los archiconocidos Moma en Nueva York y el Centro Pompidou en París, la arquitectura ha logrado introducirse en los medios de comunicación masivos junto al resto de las disciplinas artísticas. La Muestra Internacional de Arquitectura de la Bienal de Venecia es actualmente una de las instituciones más prestigiosas en cuanto a la difusión y promoción de la arquitectura contemporánea.

A presença simultânea de duas atitudes em relação à metrópole – desconfiança e desejo – tornou-se central na nossa cultura, com a metrópole a ser violentamente denunciada e/ou apaixonadamente exaltada. Assim, respondendo a uma ansiedade do nosso tempo, proponho uma análisedo processo desta dialéctica, iniciada em finais do séc. XVIII, apoiando-me nas reflexões de dois autores fundamentais do pensamento arquitectónico contemporâneo: o historiador italiano Manfredo Tafuri e o arquitecto holandês Rem Koolhaas.

Esse ensaio surge da necessidade de sistematizar um diálogo entre os autores ocorrido durante uma apresentação na mostra “Um olhar sobre Rem Koolhaas”. Durante essa apresentação, além de res-gatar a ideia que motivou a exibição das imagens, os autores buscam conectar a ideia da superposição, utilizada nas mesmas, com os projetos do arquiteto holandês. Além disso, há uma tentativa de explorar a superposição em outras áreas como escultura, pintura, cinema, música, e até mesmo a propaganda no inicio do século XX.