#remkoolhas

[characteristiarchitecturals-blog]

(base) _ and | (tower) turned into … (base) _ and | (tower) become ➕ #shenzhenstockexchange #remkoolhas #oma #shenzhen @oma.eu

[iravrahs]

Maison à Bordeaux #electives #maisonabordeaux #remkoolhas

[made-by-walking]

seattle reads #seattle #washington #publiclibrary #oma #remkoolhas #seattlepubliclibrary #structure #architecture #architectureporn #architecturelover #travelarchitecture #westcoast #america #culture #reading #books #library #madebywalking (en The Seattle Public Library)

[sauvieillustration]

This is 'Rem Koolhaas.' "I am incredibly bad at predicting the future; I am only smart enough to observe the present and listen to my intuition about tendencies." #philippesauvieartist #remkoolhas #architecturelovers #architectureporn #modern #contemporaryart #designer #digitalart #conceptualart #green #seattle #dutch #architecturaldesign #architecturaltheorist #pritzkerprize #artcritic #artconsultant #interiordesign #artforsale #portlandartist (at Portland, Oregon)

[themelbournesupremacy]

Shady characters #jfn_worldtour2017 #theseattlepubliclibrary #seattle #remkoolhas (at The Seattle Public Library)

[cyjonline-blog]

Casa do Musica in Oporto by OMA. Magnificent interior mix tradition and modernity / Casa do Musica en Oporto. Interior, mezcla de tradición y vanguardia. #inspiration #sandiegochair #casayjardin #interiordesign #blue #gold #oma #remkoolhas #oporto #tilefloor (en Casa da Música)

[drownmeinbeauty]

OTHERWORLDLY

The Fondazione Prada in Milan is a former distillery that’s been remade by the luxury brand as an art center.  It was opened in 2015, after OMA Europe refurbished the existing structures and added three new ones.  The ten-building campus lies along the city’s southern edge, in a precinct of warehouses, factories, and abandoned lots, and is secured with a masonry wall and uniformed guards.  Stepping inside from the sidewalk is like falling into another world, one that’s radically interior, like a convent, a prison, or an asylum. 

The artworks are sealed away in a series of strange, seemingly unrelated structures, that set a tone of unsettling quiet. It would be a sterile experience if not for the dazzling quality of the architecture.  The buildings are cerebral in their planning, restrained in their geometries, and luxurious in their finishes.  The Cinema is framed in brushed aluminum and clad with mirrored stainless steel panels.  The Hall floor is a richly figured travertine.  Staircases in all of the buildings are lined with perforated brushed stainless steel panels.  Pragmatic elements like vents, access panels and stair handrails are gorgeously concealed.

Circulation, both through the campus and through each building, is obtuse.  There are lots of ramps and staircases, and no door handles.   Most of the buildings are entered through immense, unmarked automatic sliding doors.  Signage is minimal, and no artwork is visible from outside. Young guards, dressed in unisex blue nylon Prada topcoats and Doc Martens, are required to give detailed directions to visitors.   The restrooms are particularly difficult to navigate.  All surfaces in these underground facilities, including the ceiling and the stall partitions, are constructed from a heavy steel grate.  Dark and disorienting, the space is also slightly maddening.  A sensible adult wonders,  Where is the door?  Where are the stalls?  Where are the paper towels?  And where, again, is the door? 

Recent OMA projects have had a disappointingly commercial aspect, but this one bears the sly, witty signature of Rem Koolhas.  The Fondazione has no center, no front face, and no real image.  Its most iconic element (until the high-rise Torre under construction is completed) is the “Haunted House,” an existing four-story concrete building that’s been finished in a flat, softly-glowing 24-karat gold leaf, and that houses the permanent collection.  It’s nestled at the end of a drive inside the campus, so that it remains invisible from the outside, and from most other points on the campus.  Its small bare chambers offer sculptures by Robert Gober and Louise Bourgeois and, more alluringly, opulent views into the city. Yet one isn’t permitted to step onto the balconies or take photos; one remains caught inside.

Photograph courtesy of Fondazione Prada, Milano. By Bas Princen, 2015.                                                          

[k2modern]

Friday night dance party. #remkoolhas #modernarchitecture (at McCormick Tribune Campus Center)