Contrary to many, maybe including himself, I do not consider Bjarke Ingels the reincarnation of this or that architect from the past. On the contrary, he is the embodiment of a fully fledged new typology, which responds perfectly to the current zeitgeist. Bjarke is the first major architect who disconnected the profession completely from angst. He threw out the ballast and soared. — TIME
"With that, he is completely in tune with the thinkers of Silicon Valley, who want to make the world a better place without the existential hand-wringing that previous generations felt was crucial to earn utopianist credibility," writes Rem Koolhaas for TIME's 2016 list of the "100 Most Influential People".
"We are friends," Koolhaas continues. "Once, during lunchtime, I used his office to prepare a competition presentation. (We lost.) On the menu that day was quiche. Wow, I wondered, so you can do great architecture without violating anyone’s comfort zone?"
Ingels once worked for Koolhaas at OMA before starting BIG. Since then, they've competed against each other for commissions. Ingels once described their dynamic as "oedipal" in regards to a competition for a project in Miami.
For more on BIG and OMA, check out these links:
10 Comments
Rem, I don't really see angst in other top architects, whether Steven Holl, TWBTA, SANAA..most architects are pretty sunny actually outside of the more theory driven academics (what's wrong with being critical?). Trying to think of the most angsty architect out there and number one? Rem Koolhaas. He's probably having to cozy up the fact that BIG may be his legacy at this point, since every interview frames him as Bjarke's teacher.
Either way, it's still alarming that only one architect made it. Wonder if security might arrest him as a Leo impersonator...
Eisenman is pretty angsty.
RIP PRINCE
Congrats to Bjarke too. Nice custom graphic
who eats quiche for lunch?
I would, given a choice.
That quote perfectly sums up Bjarks brand...revolution without changing anything hard...
I like the part where Rem praises the work... Oh wait, I mean the Quiche.
One of the continuing problems with design is the need for glittering novelty vs. the complexity and ambiguity. Rem is feeding into a very old and outdated narrative of the revolutionary architect bursting on the scene and innovating. Think we are at a different moment in design, of bigger problems ....
@Evan, as opposed to brunch? Which is where I think I have exclusively eaten it?
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