This book presents the output of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) of Rotterdam, founded by the architect Rem Koolhaas, during the 1980s.
[OMA. Rem Koolhaas. Architecture 1970-1990] The work with which Rem Koolhaas came to the attention of contemporary design culture dates back to 1978: with the book Delirious New York (recently reprinted by Electa), an attentive, ironic analysis of the metropolitan condition of modern architecture, Koolhaas was ahead of his time on themes that subsequent experiences have developed further, in the United States and Europe. He is the founder of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), with offices in London and Athens, as well as the most active facility, the original Rotterdam office opened in 1980. The Dutch studio has created many projects for important international competitions – from those in Berlin promoted by the IBA to those for the Villette Park in Paris and the city hall of The Hague – and many constructed works, including the National Dance Theater of The Hague. This book organizes the work done by OMA, especially that of the 1980s. The order of presentation of the projects and the explanatory and theoretical texts by Koolhaas himself bring out the connections among the various phases of the research.