“All important architecture of the last century was strongly influenced by political systems. Look at the Soviet system, with its constructivism and Stalinism, Weimer with its Modern style, Mussolini and, of course, the Nazis and Albert Speer's colossal structures. Today's architecture is subservient to the market and its terms. The market has supplanted ideology. Architecture has turned into a spectacle. It has to package itself and no longer has significance as anything but a landmark.” LooksImportantTodayLastsPoliticalTermModernCenturyStyleStructureArchitectureIdeologySignificanceSovietNaziPackagesPolitical SystemsColossalLandmarksSubservientStalinismConstructivism Author:Rem Koolhaas
“The real thing we tried to look at is what happens to a society when the state is absent. At that point, the state had really withdrawn from Lagos; the city was left to its own devices, both in terms of money and services. That, by definition, created an unbelievable proliferation of independent agency: each citizen needed to take, in any day, maybe 400 or 500 independent decisions on how to survive that extremely complex system.” LooksRealStatesHappensLeftTermDecisionCitiesNeededCitizensIndependentComplexesDefinitionsAgencyDevicesUnbelievableAbsentReal ThingsProliferationComplex Systems Author:Rem Koolhaas
“Lagos was the ultimate dysfunctional city - but actually, in terms of all the initiatives and ingenuity, it mobilised an incredibly beautiful, almost utopian landscape of independence and agency.” BeautifulTermCitiesUltimateIndependenceLandscapeAgencyInitiativeIngenuityUtopian Author:Rem Koolhaas
“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 their 'architectures' as well.” ThinkingWellsEndsPlayTermRolesDisciplineProgramStructureProfessionArchitectureAbstractionDefiningOrganizationalOrganizational Structure Author:Rem Koolhaas
“Prada is extremely directed in terms of communicating what they like and what they don't like. That is actually extremely pleasant because it clarifies very easily what you can do and what you need to do.” NeedsTermCan DoCommunicatePleasantPrada Author:Rem Koolhaas
