Rem Koolhaas has been part of the international avant-garde since the nineteen-seventies and
has been named the Pritzker Architecture Prize for the year 2000. This book which builds on
six canonical Koolhaas projects traces the discursive practice behind the design methods used
by Koolhaas and his office OMA. It uncovers recurring key themes-such as wall void montage
trajectory infrastructure and shape-that have structured this design discourse over the span
of Koolhaas's oeuvre. The book moves beyond the six core pieces as well: It explores how these
identified thematic design principles manifest in other works by Koolhaas as both practical
re-applications and further elaborations. In addition to Koolhaas's individual genius these
textual and material layers are accounted for shaping the very context of his work's relevance.
By comparing the design principles with relevant concepts from the architectural Zeitgeist in
which Koolhaas has operated the study moves beyond its specific subject-Rem Koolhaas-and
provides novel insight into the broader history of architectural ideas.
