Archinect - News

OMA and WITH Architecture Studio announce Perth Concert Hall renovation plans for 2028

2024-10-29T17:02:00-04:00

OMA has begun work on its renovation of the Perth Concert Hall in Western Australia's capital. The 51-year-old Brutalist structure, which was originally designed by Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey, will undergo an over $98.5 million state-of-the-art reworking to enhance its visitor experience and public spaces. A much-needed restoration of the building's plinth will be enacted in addition to refurbished lobbies on both building levels One and Two, with a new foyer and musicians’ lounge/patrons' area added to the former.

Perth-based WITH Architecture Studio are included on the project team. The expectation is for renovations to be complete by the end of 2028.

You may remember OMA was behind a colorful design for the city's PRINCIPLES Square earlier this year.

New Jersey defunds OMA's planned Centre Pompidou x Jersey City project over high costs

2024-07-31T12:18:00-04:00

The unlikely pairing of the Centre Pompidou and the state of New Jersey that would have seen OMA remake the historic Pathside Building in Jersey City into its first American satellite appears to be over after officials determined the project to be "no longer viable" financially.

"Due to the ongoing impact of COVID and multiple global conflicts on the supply chain, rising costs, an irreconcilable operating gap, and the corresponding financial burdens it will create for New Jersey’s taxpayers, the Legislature has rescinded financial support, leaving us to determine that this project is unfortunately no longer feasible," the letter from NJ Economic Development Authority chief Tim Sullivan to Centre Pompidou president Laurent Le Bon reads. Artnet has more on the unfolding funding debacle, which centers around a question about the satellite's operational costs.

The Centre Pompidou in Paris is currently undergoing a $280.5 million overhaul led by Moreau Kusunoki with associate designer F...

Ellen van Loon departs OMA after 26 years

2024-07-26T19:10:00-04:00

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) announced the retirement of Partner Ellen van Loon from the firm after 26 years.

The announcement says: “Ellen has indicated that she wishes to enter a new phase in her life in which she will have more time to herself. It goes without saying that we deeply regret her decision. Ellen has been a trusted colleague and powerful force within our firm for decades. She also is, and will remain, a dear friend to all of us.”

Van Loon, who was born in the Netherlands and educated at TU Delft, joined the firm in 1998 after working at Foster + Partners. OMA is approaching its 50th year in 2025. Partners Shohei Shigematsu, Jason Long, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, David Gianotten, and Reinier de Graaf remain in charge along with founder Rem Koolhaas, who turns 80 in November.

OMA's 'anti-iconic' Bordeaux bridge design wants to be more than just a bridge

2024-07-12T18:08:00-04:00

Archinect has received photos of the newly opened Simone Veil Bridge, designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas and Chris van Duijn in Bordeaux, France. The project spans 549 meters (1,801 feet) in length and is 44 meters (144 feet) wide, connecting the communes of Floirac and Bègles over the Garonne River.

Photo by Clement Guillaume, courtesy OMA

OMA said this about their unusual bridge programming: "It abandons any interest in style, form, and structural expression in favor of a commitment to performance and an interest in future use by the people of Bordeaux. Cars, modes of public transportation, and bicycles all have their own lanes, with the largest by far dedicated to foot traffic. The width of the bridge’s platform is doubled to create 28 meters of neutral, unprogrammed space that can be used for any cultural or commercial purpose, such as farmers’ markets, art fairs, bicycle rallies, car club meetings, and festivals for music or wine."

Photo by JB Menges, courtesy of Bordeaux Metropol

Part...

OMA Conversations

2024-05-13T21:09:00-04:00

the drawing for (Parc de) la Villette...was based on very definite sources...Of course...it was no gigantic leap if you were familiar with those Belgian cartoons. Willem-Jan Neutelings would always draw these little cartoons for the buildings he made, certainly when he opened his own office...The other inspiration was a painter in Chicago named Roger Brown, who made these tip-up paintings—all his scenes were using that perspective—and he was influenced by Italian 13-14th Century painting.

In collaboration with Drawing Matter, Architect Richard Hall is publishing a 6-part series based on twenty-three in-depth conversations with key collaborators working with OMA during its formative years. Most of the image material is from the in-house project archive of OMA at the Rotterdam office and/or the personal archives of its previous members and the Drawing Matter Collection.

OMA breaks ground on The Perigon Miami Beach

2024-04-22T12:28:00-04:00

OMA has broken ground on its new Miami Beach development called The Perigon. The project from partner Jason Long at 5333 Collins Avenue will reach a height of 17 floors when it first opens to residents in late 2026.

A total of 73 one- and two-bedroom residences are included, oriented around creating ocean vistas and including about 20,000 square feet of amenities spaces highlighted by a speakeasy and the latest restaurant concept from celebrity chef Shaun Hergatt.

Image credit: The Boundary

A double-height entry lobby welcomes residents to the building’s other features, including a conservatory space, film screening room, beach club, and 82-foot swimming pool. The building is conceived as a series of small rotated “towers.” The vistas are referencing European Riviera-style resort designs, reflected again in interiors designed by Tara Bernerd & Partners.

Image credit: The Boundary

Viewed from the outside, its singular form is define...

OMA debuts PRINCIPLES Square collection for Perth Design Week

2024-03-14T19:28:00-04:00

Photos of the central hub for Perth Design Week, the eight-day event taking place now in the Western Australia capital, have been revealed by OMA to go along with the start of festivities.

Their colorful design for PRINCIPLES Square is located inside Cathedral Square in Perth's city center and features the Australian debut of the firm's office furniture collaboration with UniFor, which first premiered at Milan Design Week in 2022.

Intended as the main gathering space for Design Week, the concept creates a variety of socializing and spatial scenarios. For the event's second edition, no less than 20 events will be hosted there. Philippe Braun, the project's associate-in-charge, told the press that its realization "stimulated us to further explore how the collection can be applied beyond the typical."

Photography by Frans Parthesius, courtesy OMA

OMA says of the arrangement: "PRINCIPLES Square is the manifestation of the potential of the collection. The installation takes advantage of ...

OMA unveils design for Metropolitan Village residential tower in Taipei

2023-11-09T12:56:00-05:00

OMA has revealed plans for its first post-pandemic residential design in Taipei. The new Metropolitan Village project is being designed by OMA Managing Partner David Gianotten and Taiwan Project Director Chiaju Lin and calls for a 23-story tower comprised of interconnected volumes arranged around a central core.

Image: © WAX Architectural Visualizations, courtesy of OMA

Gianotten says: “Housing has become increasingly multi-functional since the pandemic. For many, it is no longer only a space for domestic activities but also for work, for socializing, for sports, among other happenings. Different than typical residential towers with identical living units, Metropolitan Village has different types of spaces that encourage the residents to define their own lifestyles. The result is a vibrant vertical Metropolitan village with a mix of activities.”

Image: © WAX Architectural Visualizations, courtesy of OMA

Metropolitan Village will be oriented front to back, with its front elevation add...

OMA's new Toranomon Hills Station Tower opens in Tokyo

2023-10-27T13:48:00-04:00

OMA and Partner Shohei Shigematsu have shared new photos of their just-completed work on the Toranomon Hills Station Tower project for developer Mori Building Co. in Tokyo.

The first high-rise to be completed inside the studio’s larger Toranomon Hills mixed-use district overlooks the terminus of Shintora-dori Avenue, whose axis is extended through a split base containing a Metro station and shopping area. This creates an interface between city and the building that the architects say is essential to their design’s public character, an element that culminates in a top-level cultural center called TOKYO NODE.

Photo: Mori Building Co., Ltd, courtesy of OMA

Photo: Tomoyuki Kusunose, courtesy of OMA

In between the public elements, the total 873-foot tower contains 32 levels of office spaces, a hotel, and two restaurants. Users will approach via an elevated T-Deck pedestrian walkway that connects the site to the surrounding development. Base-level activities are extended vertically in a ban...

Final design for Discovery Partners Institute headquarters presented to Chicago Plan Commission

2023-06-05T19:25:00-04:00

The Chicago Plan Commission was presented the final design for the Discovery Partners Institute’s new headquarters at the 78 as the development looks to get final site plan approval.

The OMA and Jacobs-designed project is proposed for a one-acre parcel anchoring the south end of the upcoming The 78 mega-development, a mixed-use innovation district set to rise along a 62-acre stretch of disused rail yards. The headquarters is expected to be the first building to begin construction at the development. Standing eight stories and spanning approximately 213,000 square feet, the scheme will feature office, classroom, lab, and event spaces for the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and its partners.

Previously on Archinect: OMA/Jacobs selected to design the University of Illinois' new DPI innovation hub in Chicago

The building will be composed of a series of stacked volumes enclosed with a dome-like glass and steel form. The atrium, described by OMA as an “active collision zone,” will serve as a central gathering space. The ground floor is designed to be open to the public, with a café, auditorium, and multipurpose rooms. The new headquar...

OMA completes renovation of Tiffany & Co. Manhattan flagship with rooftop extension

2023-05-19T17:02:00-04:00

OMA has completed its transformation of Tiffany & Co.’s 5th Avenue flagship in New York City. The updated store now features a three-story rooftop addition designed by OMA and interiors by Peter Marino.

Image credit: floto+warner

The project marks the first significant renovation of the store since its opening in 1940. Now known as ‘The Landmark,’ the store “invites visitors to discover the history and range of Tiffany & Co. goods in a redefined flagship environment of displays and shared experiences,” according to OMA.

Image credit: floto+warner

The interior of the existing limestone building sees a central core reorganized to create a clear elevator lobby and improved visitor flow. Atop the building, a new three-story volume houses a dedicated gallery, exhibition, and event space.

Image credit: floto+warner

The first two floors of the volume are stacked into a clear box for exhibitions and events, with a double-height, column-free s...

OMA and Circlewood develop adaptable modular wood system to build schools in Amsterdam

2023-05-12T13:59:00-04:00

OMA, along with Circlewood, a coalition of architects, engineers, builders, and researchers, have developed a modular wood system to build a variety of schools in Amsterdam.

This project aims to support the city’s goal to halve the use of primary raw materials by 2030 and become fully circular by 2050. As part of this mission and the need to meet the increasing demand for schools, Amsterdam initiated the Innovation Partnership School Buildings program to build nine to thirty “high-quality, flexible, and sustainable” schools in ten years.

Image courtesy of OMA

Consisting of standardized wooden columns and cross-laminated wooden floor panels, the prefabricated system is connected by recycled steel joints. OMA explains, "All of the components are made in a factory under a digitally controlled process allowing for quick assembly and disassembly by an electric crane on site."

Photography by Arthur Wong for OMA.

They are arranged into 11.8-foot wide (2.6m), 23.6-foot long (7.2m), and up t...

OMA completes stepped Greenpoint Landing towers in Brooklyn

2022-12-08T11:36:00-05:00

Construction has been completed on OMA’s Eagle + West towers along the Brooklyn waterfront. Designed in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle, the towers represent OMA’s first high-rise scheme in New York.

The 600,000-square-foot development comprises two towers and a seven-story building, holding a total of 745 residential units. The two towers lean into and away from each other, with expanding and contracting forms determined by an attempt to maximize internal efficiency. While the forty-story tower widens as it rises in order to maximize views, the thirty-story tower widens towards the ground to face the waterfront.

Image credit: Jason O'Rear

The stepped massing of the towers sees the form broken into seven-to-eight-story blocks, reflecting the scale of neighboring buildings, according to the architects. The subdivision is further expressed on the façade itself, where a grid of precast concrete panels is carved by angled planes alternating in orientatio...

OMA/Jacobs selected to design the University of Illinois' new DPI innovation hub in Chicago

2022-09-23T17:14:00-04:00

A joint team of OMA and Jacobs has been selected to design a new 200,000-square-foot headquarters for the University of Illinois System's Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago, the state and Governor J.B. Pritzker announced on Thursday.

The multi-year project will transform a disused 62-acre former yard site as the first construction in the larger The 78 Innovation District that is meant to provide a high-tech connection between Chinatown to the South Loop.

Image courtesy OMA and Lucian R

Pritzker says its “futuristic design” matches the state’s ambition to create a hub for innovation downtown on land donated to the state by Related Companies’ Midwest operation. Beyond the typical economic stimulus components provided by the project, the development will support a host of K-12 education and entrepreneurship programs, continued wastewater monitoring, and a hodgepodge of other collaborative business ventures geared toward the tech industry.

Image courtesy OMA and bloomimages.de

Image ...

OMA's Taipei Performing Arts Center officially opens

2022-08-08T15:54:00-04:00

The new Taipei Performing Arts Center by OMA has opened to the public in the city’s Shilin Night Market. Led by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, the project comprises three theaters: a spherical 800-seat Globe Playhouse, a 1,500-seat Grand Theater, and an 800-seat Blue Box, connected to a central cube.

Previously on Archinect: OMA's role-defying new theater design debuts in Taipei

The cube houses the stages, backstages, and support spaces of the theaters, which allows the Grand Theater and the Blue Box to come together to form a Super Theater.

Image © Shephotoerd Co. Photography, courtesy of OMA

Image © OMA

The Globe features a unique proscenium that supports experimentation with stage framing. The opaque façades of the theaters juxtapose the animated and illuminated central cube that is clad in corrugated glass.

Image © Shephotoerd Co. Photography, courtesy of OMA

Image © OMA

A landscaped plaza sits beneath the central cube, which is lifted off the ground to accommodate t...

OMA, David Chipperfield, and Sou Fujimoto team up to design $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex in Shenzhen

2022-07-22T17:38:00-04:00

A team consisting of David Chipperfield, OMA, and Sou Fujimoto is leading the design of an expansive, $1.4 billion cultural-retail complex on the coast of Shenzhen.

Called K11 ECOAST, the development will span more than 2.4 million square feet and be located in Prince Bay in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District. The project is being jointly developed by Hong Kong billionaire Adrian Cheng’s New World Development Company Limited, along with China Merchants Shekou Holdings in Shenzhen.

Image courtesy K11 Group

The project is part of the Chinese government’s effort to develop its Greater Bay Area region, which includes southern cities, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, into arts and business hubs by 2035. Cheng’s vision for K11 ECOAST is to establish a new creative and cultural destination for the region. The complex will consist of a mall, multi-purpose art space, office buildings, and a promenade. The complex’s design places an emphasis on balancing the architecture with the surrounding coastal...

OMA's role-defying new theater design debuts in Taipei

2022-05-16T13:20:00-04:00

New photos have been released of the recently completed Tapei Performing Arts Center by OMA.

Now a part of the capital city’s Shilin Night Market, the new Center houses two 800-seat theaters and a larger 1,500-seat venue in addition to support areas all connected by a centralizing cube-like form that OMA founder Rem Koolhaas thinks will free both patron and performer from a stultifying industry-wide trend.

Image: © OMA by Chris Stowers

“Theater has a very long tradition. We have seen contemporary performance theaters increasingly becoming standardized, with conservative internal operation principles. We want to contribute to the history of the theater,” Koolhaas explained in a statement. “Here in Taipei, we were able to combine three auditoria in a particular way. We are interested to see how this architecture will have an impact in terms of extending what we can do in theater.”

Image © Shephotoerd Co. Photography, courtesy of OMA

Photos reveal the cubic ...

OMA unveils design for tiered residential tower in Miami Beach

2022-05-13T13:56:00-04:00

The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has unveiled the design for a 17-story, 408,000-square-foot residential tower in Miami’s Mid Beach neighborhood.

The Perigon, located at 5333 Collins Avenue, will sit at the center of a rare section of Miami Beach that spans from the small village of Indian Creek to the Atlantic Ocean. Its unique position allows for dual-waterfront living. The project is being led by OMA Partner Jason Long.

Image Copyright OMA and Binyan Studios

The structure has been designed as a series of “towers” rotated to orient views away from neighbors and towards the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. The towers are merged and lifted 45 feet above the flood line into a singular volume. This allows for panoramic views across each floor and opens up space on the ground level.

“Miami Beach combines natural beauty with urban density—Collins Avenue is at times a walled fortress blocking off the city from its best asset. We tried to make our building touch the ground...

OMA and Library Street Collective unveil new mixed-use arts space in Detroit

2022-05-05T14:27:00-04:00

Detroit-based contemporary art exhibition space Library Street Collective has announced a partnership with OMA to transform a former 1900s-era commercial bakery and warehouse into a mixed-use arts education and public space.

Led by OMA Partner Jason Long, the adaptive reuse project will see the conversion of the 22,300-square-foot complex at 9301 Kercheval into a headquarters for two local arts nonprofits, Signal-Return and Progressive Arts Studio Collective (PASC). Nicknamed “LANTERN,” it will also feature roughly 5,300 square feet of affordable artist studios, an art gallery, and nearly 4,000 feet of creative retail. This will be centered around a 2,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard that will serve as an accessible community space and activity condenser.

The original vacant bakery and warehouse. Photo: Jason Keen, Courtesy LSC

The proposed revamp. Image Copyright OMA and Luxigon

PASC and Signal-Return will occupy approximately 8,500 square feet of combined space on the building’s ...

OMA revitalizes historic US Post Office mail sorting warehouse with POST Houston

2021-12-03T18:32:00-05:00

The first phase of OMA’s POST Houston, a project revitalizing the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office in Houston, Texas, is nearing completion. Finalized areas of the building opened to the public for the first time.

Image: OMA / Steve Hyde

Designed by OMA Partner Jason Long and OMA New York, POST Houston is the transformation of a former United States Post Office mail sorting warehouse into a mixed-use, public space in downtown Houston. The owners of the 500,000-square-foot concrete warehouse, which was originally built in 1962, wanted to preserve the scale and aura of the structure, while also integrating it into the fabric of the downtown area.

The original Barbara Jordan Post Office structure. Image: OMA

“Our approach balanced wholesale preservation with surgical interventions,” said the architects. “Like farmers working on concrete soil, we raked a series of horizontal thoroughfares into and through it. Along each line, we cut an interior void,” they continued. The apertures allo...

OMA takes exhibition design to new levels at the reopened Denver Art Museum

2021-10-26T17:06:00-04:00

As part of the newly reopened Denver Art Museum renovation project, OMA has transformed the design galleries of the iconic Martin Building in order to better display, exhibit, and communicate the museum’s robust holdings in architecture and design.

The remade space features two new galleries and an educational studio named for designer and art collector Ellen Bruss.

Photography by James Florio

OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu described the opportunity to work within Ponti’s seminal work as “an exciting exercise,” offering his opinion that “Much like his design philosophy, the role of design seems to grow and diversify exponentially. A direct consequence of design ubiquity is accessibility and literacy, and we wanted the galleries to react to these changes.”

Photography by James Florio

“The three spaces pose new ways of seeing as well as interacting with objects and materials,” he continued. “They present different spatial and programmatic identities but work collectively as a platform for s...

OMA and Buro Happold reveal designs for the Al Daayan Health District in Doha

2021-10-18T14:50:00-04:00

Final drafts for the joint OMA and Buro Happold-designed Al Daayan Health District are now available, showcasing a localized model of healthcare infrastructure that OMA Partner Reinier de Graaf hopes will be transplanted from Doha, Qatar to the rest of the world.

Image © OMA

The 1.3-million-square-meter (14-million-square-foot) facility will be completely self-sustaining thanks to onsite prefabrication, 3D printing, an agricultural element, and built-in solar farm.

Image © OMA

“Architects have long aimed to provide the hospital with a final solution. This proposal starts from the opposite end: viewing the hospital as the type of building that is forever under construction, as an organism for which space and time must be considered equally,” de Graaf said in a statement.

Image © OMA

The development is anchored by a two-story building that houses a teaching hospital, women’s and children’s hospitals, ambulatory care, and clinical facilities. The new hospital will have capacity for 1,400...

OMA's first office development in Japan is now complete

2021-10-11T18:15:00-04:00

Thirty years after their first project in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, OMA has announced the completion of its plan for the Tenjin Business Center development that will bring a “new urban lifestyle” to the country’s seventh-largest city.

The Tenjin Business Center's pixellated corner facade. Photography by Tomoyuki Kusunose.

The center is the first realized part of the Tenjin Big Bang Initiative, which will create a sprawling, multi-use hub that’s meant to serve as a catalyst for Fukuoka’s transformation into a high-tech startup capital.

The Tenjin Business Center's activated lower corner soffit lighting. Courtesy Fukuoka Jisho.

“It’s been a remarkable experience to build in my hometown where the city’s unique culture and identity are held close by its community, but in a moment of transformation catalyzed by an openness to new ideas and people,” OMA Partner Shohei Shigematsu, who is a native of Fukuoka, said in a statement.

Located at the intersection of two of the...

OMA reveals first quadrant of redesigned KaDeWe department store in Berlin

2021-10-09T09:00:00-04:00

The important first section of OMA’s redesigned master plan for the famed Berlin department store Kaufhaus des Westens (or KaDeWe) has officially opened to the public this week after a five-year renovation effort.

Organized into quadrants, the reorganized mass introduces a smaller area plan with improved accessibility and more wayfinding. OMA is hoping to address the changes in consumer spending as well as the rise of online retail known as a threat to traditional brick-and-mortar establishments.

Photograph by Marco Cappelletti, Courtesy of OMA.

“The renovation of the KaDeWe aims to redefine the dynamics between retail space, its patrons, and the urban environment, in a time when e-commerce is reshaping our relation with in-person shopping,” OMA partner Ellen van Loon offered. “The project reinterprets the fundamental elements of a typology that has remained virtually unchanged for more than 100 years.”

Photograph by Marco Cappelletti, Courtesy of OMA.

Consisting of a concentric void...

OMA reaches major milestones with 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington D.C.

2021-09-30T16:11:00-04:00

OMA, along with landscape architects OLIN, structural engineers WRA, and other members of the 11th Street Bridge Park design team have reached major milestones in the planning and design of the multi-use pedestrian bridge in Washington D.C. The breakthroughs come following the review and approval of plans by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) at the beginning of April 2020.

Previously on Archinect: OMA, OLIN move forward with interlocking bridge design in Washington, D.C.

As per OMA, the intermediate design of the project is 65% complete. The team will move into final construction plans this fall. Additionally, the project has met 85% of its Capital Campaign development effort goal, with $118 million of the $139 million total project budget secured. Approximately $30.3 million allocated to the project was maintained in Washington D.C.’s new 2022 budget, as well.

Image: Copyright OMA and Luxigon

New renderings, following receiving approval and feedback from the U.S. Commi...

OMA's new pedestrian bridge aims to lead the Mexican city of Jojutla on a path to the future

2021-09-23T19:48:00-04:00

Four years removed from one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico’s history, one small city in the state of Morelos is ready to bridge the chasm between past tragedy and future optimism thanks to the efforts of one New York firm.

Image courtesy of OMA New York

OMA has announced that it will be developing a new pedestrian bridge for the city of Jojutla to coincide with the anniversary of the devastating 2017 earthquake that left much of the city in shambles, and many of its residents to question the viability of the community long term.

Image courtesy of OMA New York

The project is the latest addition to OMA’s ongoing public space and resiliency push that includes a comprehensive post-Hurricane Sandy water use strategy for Hoboken, New Jersey, and the 11th Street Bridge Park development in Washington, DC.

Image courtesy of OMA New York/CCA, Model and Photography by CCA

The new bridge represents OMA New York’s contribution to the region’s ambitious recovery effort. Jojutla has beco...

OMA's Prestige Liberty Towers break ground in Mumbai

2021-09-21T17:24:00-04:00

OMA has announced that construction has begun on the Prestige Liberty Towers mixed-use complex in Mumbai, the firm’s first project in India.

The development is situated in the historic textile mills area of Mahalaxmi in the heart of Mumbai. The complex is another contribution to the city’s rapid transformation from industrial city to global financial center, along with its new transport networks, high-rise residential, retail, and office spaces.

As per the architects: “OMA’s design takes advantage of the views overlooking the Mahalakshmi Racecourse to the Arabian Sea with two staggered towers of 200 and 290 meters — at 270,000m² [2.9 million square feet] one of the largest office developments in the city. The rectangular column-free floors, combined with full-height curved glass facades, are designed to maximize the office plan efficiency with light-filled, high-quality workspaces. The restrained material selection of Indian black basalt and glass provide a counterpoint to the urb...

OMA's Morden Wharf master plan in Greenwich, London gets planning consent

2021-09-09T19:18:00-04:00

OMA’s mixed-use development for London’s Greenwich Peninsula has been granted planning consent from the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Planning Committee. The master plan, called Morden Wharf, will sit on a 2.4-hectare site adjacent to the O2 Arena.

Image by Pixelflakes, Courtesy of OMA

As stated in the architect’s announcement: “OMA’s scheme for developer U+I follows a years-long design and consultation process. Key to its development is maximizing the potential of the riverfront for public use and access. The site’s industrial past is reflected in the proposed mix of uses, balancing new residential development with employment and community uses. The existing warehouse on the site is preserved and will house small enterprises and creative businesses. Along the Thames’ edge will sit Morden Park, a 1.6-hectare public park, harkening back to the site’s marshland beginnings.”

Image by Pixelflakes, Courtesy of OMA

The development will add 1,500 new homes, in 12 residential buildings, of wh...

AMO undertakes set design and video art direction for Bulgari's summer 2021 fine jewelry show

2021-06-28T13:14:00-04:00

AMO, the research branch of OMA, has revealed its designs for Italian luxury brand, Bulgari’s, Summer 2021 fine jewelry show.

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

The firm carried out the show’s set design and video art direction. It is being presented at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a major landmark in Milan and Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery. The project is led by OMA Partner Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri.

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

Striking uses of light and color create a dramatic atmosphere that compliments the grandiose, classical nature of the iconic building.

As stated in the project’s press release, “In manipulating scale and time, the show creates a mutually reinforcing encounter between the splendors of fine jewelry and architecture.”

Photo: Agostino Osio/Courtesy of AMO

“We conceptualized the production as an interplay of the lyrical and the mechanical,” says Ellen van Loon. “We wanted to create scenes that resonate with the design of fine je...

'Countryside at the United Nations' by Rem Koolhaas + AMO opens in New York

2021-06-16T12:40:00-04:00

AMO, the research, branding, and publication studio of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), has taken over the fences of the United Nations headquarters in New York for a public exhibition that serves as a continuation of Countryside, The Future.

Curated by architect and OMA founder Rem Koolhaas and AMO director Samir Bantal, Countryside was originally presented in February 2020 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The exhibition presented research gathered by AMO over five years, bringing together discussions from scientific, sociological, artistic, and political spaces. It set out to define and explore the contemporary “countryside” of the “98% of the Earth’s surface not occupied by cities.” Countryside, The Future was unfortunately shut down just three weeks after its opening due to the coronavirus pandemic but continued after the museum reopened.

Previously on Archinect: See photos from "Countryside, The Future" at the Guggenheim Museum

This new showcase, informed by ...