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Quote by Rem Koolhaas

“If you have this reputation you can sit back and endure it, or you can try to do things with it.”

Quote by Rem Koolhaas

Author

Rem Koolhaas is a renowned Dutch architect, born on November 17, 1944. Known for his unique architectural style and theoretical contributions, his work has a widespread influence globally. more

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“Influence is a very unpleasant subject and I deal with it in a maybe irresponsible way, which is to really ignore it. It would be a nightmare if we started to really think about it; it would tie our hands, it would tie everyone elses hands.”

Ifs Thinking Way Hands Would Be Deals Influence Subjects Ties Nightmare Irresponsible

Author:Rem Koolhaas

“We say we want to create beauty, identity, quality, singularity. And yet, maybe in truth these cities that we have are desired. Maybe their very characterlessness provides the best context for living.”

Want Cities Quality Identity Singularity

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“When air conditioning, escalators, and advertising appeared, shopping expanded its scale, but also limited its spontaneity. And it became much more predictable, almost scientific. What had once been the most surprising became the most manipulated.”

Air Scales Advertising Shopping Surprising Spontaneity Predictable Conditioning Air Conditioning Escalators

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“When shopping was still connected to the street it was also an intensification and articulation of the street. Now it has become utterly independent - contained, controlled, surveyed.”

Stills Streets Independent Connected Controlled Shopping Articulation

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“Japan lives with drastic segregation between the sublime, the ugly, and the utterly without qualities. Dominance of the last 2 categories makes mere presence of the first stunning: when beauty 'happens', it is absolutely surprising.”

Firsts Happens Lasts Quality Mere Ugly Japan Categories Surprising Sublime Segregation Dominance Stunning Drastic

Author:Rem Koolhaas

“As more and more architecture is finally unmasked as the mere organization of flow - shopping centers, airports - it is evident that circulation is what makes or breaks public architecture.”

Break Flow Organization Mere Architecture Shopping Evident Airports Circulation Make Or Break Shopping Centers

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“In this branch of utopian real estate, architecture is no longer the art of designing buildings so much as the brutal skyward extrusion of whatever site the developer has managed to assemble.”

Art Real Design Building Architecture Branches Brutal Site Estates Utopian Developers

Author:Rem Koolhaas

“Without a tighter union, Europe will disintegrate”

Author:Rem Koolhaas

“Manhattan is an accumulation of possible disasters that never happen.”

Happens Disaster Accumulation Manhattan

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“Architecture is art, but art vastly contaminated by many other things. Contaminated in the best sense of the word – fed, fertilised by many things.”

Art Architecture Feds

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