Scene: The Q&A after the lecture. First question from curly haired over enthusiastic student.
"Would you teach at USC?"
...pause...
Rem: "No."
The Line
We seriously arrived around 4:30 for the 5:30 doors open lecture and were among the first in line. However. USC students had a separate line as they got preference. Apparently everyone and their roommate is interested in what Rem has to say at USC and there were easily several hundred USC students in 300+ yard long line if not more. So even at the front of the non-USC line, it was looking like we might not even get into to the rumored to be 800 capacity auditorium.
One guy in the USC line we noticed was carrying a small model of the Seattle Public Library and a shirt with the library on it. I won't even comment on this and will let you draw your own conclusions.
Several red and gold suited pimply undergrads with headsets were on ego trips herding us around. Eventually word broke that they would open the top balcony levels and we got to go in.
Part II or The Middle
Have to say that the intro by the new USC dean was at best sincere. Very strange. The intro was mangled as he introduced Rem, brought him out on stage, then went on to talk more as Rem awkwardly stood on stage wondering if he should return backstage or not. He disappeared only to be called back out to receive an award, of which the trophy was a vitra miniature of the Saarinen tulip chair encased in clear acrylic.
Rem finally got to take the stage and seemed quite relaxed and very at ease. Others that have seen him later said he seemed much less intense and dogmatic as he has in the past.
The focus seemed to be on new directions that he was looking in. One being AMO, the antithesis (sorta) to OMA in which it dealt with not architecture and not urbanism but the other cultural aspects surrounding design that he was interested in. A few projects were looked at, particularly those in Dubai. He definitely was interested in a sort of aspect of preservation throughout. The project in Dubai seemed to question the appropriateness of high-end architectural tower design in an extreme environment. It was essentially a very thin, very tall box tower (maybe 20-30m wide at the base, 300m tall and almost as wide) that sat on a rotating base. He jokingly showed the wall obstructing some of the other buildings that are being/have been built in Dubai.
He also looked at the notion of "generic architecture" which seemed to be a way of him saying how you could systematize design and use it in a few variations for many buildings. In someways, I picture it as to what Frank Gehry has done. He has essentially a Frank Gehry "look" (for lack of a better word) with his swoopy melted shiny metal paneled boxes with sharp corners. But at the same time, it seemed to be a call for the opposite. Rather than trying to make signature buildings that defined themselves and the city/skyline in which the existed, perhaps it is important to be generic and be just another square in the patchwork quilt of urbanity.
The other project he looked as was the original competition for the Gazprom tower in St. Petersburg. It was eventually nixed but in the presentation he showed a diagram by H&dM which literally showed a cartoonish diagram of their scheme accompanied by gestural diagrams of the other competitors schemes at the bottom with x's through them. Interesting strategy for a competition. I think I'm going to use it for my boards in a few weeks.
He moved on to the museum at St. Petersburg which he's interested in the aspect of preserving decaying parts of the Hermitage and using them to be juxtaposed against the artwork. It seemed like more and more he was increasingly interested in the idea of preservation or historical acknowledgement in his work. The most interesting chart/diagram was one where he asserted that architects are primarily interested in change and execution. We choose to act rather than to reflect, etc. etc. In his work, he basically stated he was very curious as to being the non-architect; that is taking a much more passive role in the built environment or even design.
Final Thoughts
The lecture closed with a few generic and none-to-interesting questions. I wanted to ask him about this increasing desire or perhaps just fascination with preservation that he was on and how it could be paralleled or contrasted against say the Benjamin-ian idea of authenticity in art or even the idea of critical regionalism that Frampton advocates. Perhaps Rem is mellowing out in his old age? We can only wait and see.
If anything. It seems that Rem is beginning to take a drastic turn in the direction his research is intended. Perhaps those at the GSD working with him can offer a little more insight into the things he only began to elucidate.
PS. If you're ever in a dark lecture with slides, please refrain from taking flash photos. I know Rem is famous and all but flashes going off every few seconds for the first 10 minutes of the lecture were incredible annoying. And everyone knows your little point and shoot digital camera's flash is good for max 15 or so feet. It'll just be underexposed as always.
10 Comments
this lecture should've been at the kodak theater...
ACFA: Excellent description of the lecture. You forgot to mention the EU flag stuff that came at the end. I also found this new restraint, or "generic" sector of his office interesting. Of course, he introduced this idea with the Dubai project and the collage of "the great works of recent architecture" (including CCTV, of course!). The Dubai building was described as a vertical slab. Maybe twenty times wider than it is thick. Still, when he showed it in the site, it was seemingly in the center of the city with no buildings constructed within a two to three block radius on any side. On top of this, it is to be rotating in circles... which he tossed in a footnote about some positive sustainability built into this. Basically, the way it was displayed, I felt it was just as much a landmark. Then, he shows another "generic" building in Jersey City (after raving about its excellent infrastructural connections to New York -sure), which may be the capital of generic and most in need of identity. Needless to say, I think I am missing something here. I am interested in your thoughts?
-PS. Also, you should mention the Death Star project!
this sounds almost exactly like the lecture he gave at the GSD earlier this fall. And i'd say that the general affect he transmitted during the lecture sounds similar to what you described. He had a somewhat blasse attitude about discussing his work (albiet mixed with what seemed like frustration with Harvard in general).
Eisenman gave a lecture at MIT last night, and I must say, he shared the same seeming disinterest in discussing his own work. could it be that the old guard is dealing with some sort of endgame melancholy? the only analogy i can think of, is that of the grizzled veteran old west gunfighter, just waiting to be defeated so they can rest. its a strange analogy, i know, but its the first thing that comes to mind.
mmhhh i doubt is an "endgame melancholy", maybe is just that these guys (generation) is the one really OVERMEDIATIZED dont u think?? so maybe they're just not interested anymore in sound polemic (which doesnt mean they r not great thinkers), but even efforts by the AA to sit them together in a discussion table had failed before... last time i saw KOOLhaas in a lecture was couple of years ago when he received the Mies award...and i must say his speech was ironic, intelligent and very criticizing about the whole over exposure media is doing about architecture...he sounded back there like he was tired of getting so much attention...i dunno, is just my idea of the situation...
cut Quingyun Ma some slack, he's still getting used to the whole 'Dean' gig.
Also blogged (with photos) by Sam Felder > http://www.samfelder.com/2007/03/01/rem-koolhaas-lecture/
And, for historic context, see http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=53215_0_42_50_C
1. Rem is smarter than you
2. This is his PR web, like a waif supermodel...showing disinterest
3. The rabbit hole is as deep as your curiousity
I have absolutely no doubt that Rem is smarter than me.
But I just want to take the blue pill and see how far the rabbit hole goes.
Have to say though, I think he was infinitely bored of being at USC. They must've dangled a pretty hefty chunk of change in front of him.
Cobra helped fill in some of the missing elements.
I'm not sure if it was a paid lecture; Rem's worked with Ma before, so it might have been a favor. All in all, he seemed very unhappy with the venue and most of the questions were pretty uninspired. Thanks for blogging this. I know this was probaby supposed my thing.
(Annoying curly-haired student was in my structures class. Ugh)
"One guy in the USC line we noticed was carrying a small model of the Seattle Public Library and a shirt with the library on it. I won't even comment on this and will let you draw your own conclusions." Laughing at my desk for at least a minute over this, i'm sure my coworkers were curious.
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