START - The Rem Koolhaas/OMA Collection

The Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas (1944) and his Rotterdam-based practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) are world famous. In 2004 Rotterdam is celebrating the work of Koolhaas, OMA and the research office AMO with two exhibitions: START in the NAI and CONTENT in the Kunsthal. The Koolhaas-designed Kunsthal and the Museumpark that links it with the NAI complete the 'Koolhaas spectacle'. Rem Koolhaas is one of the most discussed architects of our time, not least for his architectural theory. His visionary mind and sharp analytical thinking have given Koolhaas an almost guru-like status. His ideas are taken up and quoted around the world and his innovative designs for buildings and master plans have been extremely influential.

OMA Koolhaas originally established his practice OMA in London in 1975 and relocated to Rotterdam in 1978. Koolhaas earned considerable fame for his theoretical manifesto 'Delirious New York' (1978) but still lacked the opportunities to put his theories into practice. It was the competition for the extension of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague and the commissions in the Netherlands that brought about the practice's relocation to Rotterdam.

START START comprises the NAI's archive of Koolhaas' early work from the period 1978-1994. The exhibition includes Dutch highlights such as the Nederlands Danstheater in The Hague and the Kunsthal in Rotterdam and important overseas projects such as the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe and the Jussieu Library in Paris.

Open depot START is installed as an open depot housing all forty projects from the period 1978-1994. The exhibition's spatial design is an experiment in the creation of an open depot, which jettisons the notion of a 'beautiful' presentation. This revolutionary installation will provide a greater insight into the Koolhaas and OMA archives. With its survey of early work START forms the perfect introduction to the exhibition CONTENT.

CONTENT The pretext for CONTENT is the imminent and eagerly awaited completion of three large-scale Koolhaas buildings: the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the 'Casa da Musica' concert hall in Porto and the public library in Seattle. CONTENT will give an unprecedented insight into the designs and concepts of OMA and AMO organized around twenty themes including 'High-rise' (Hyperbuilding, Bangkok, 1996; Universal Headquarters, Los Angeles, 1996), 'Museum' (Whitney Museum extension, New York, 2001; Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, Las Vegas, 2000), 'Prada' and 'Europe'. The exhibition includes numerous models of built and unrealized projects. In addition to Koolhaas' own works the exhibition will include installation work, film and photography by contemporary visual artists Tony Oursler, Jeff Preiss and Candida Höfer. The exhibition can be seen at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin until January 20, 2004.

Parallelausstellung:
27.03. - 29.08. 2004 Kunsthal Rotterdam: "CONTENT - Rem Koolhaas and OMA-AMO"
Buildings, Projects and Concepts since 1996