Rem Koolhaas

Remment Lucas Koolhaas (English pronunciation: /ˈrɛm ˈkɔːlhɑːs/; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Koolhaas is the founding partner ofOMA, and of its research-oriented counterpart AMO, currently based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 2005 he co-founded Volume Magazine together with Mark Wigley and Ole Bouman.

In 2000 Rem Koolhaas won the Pritzker Prize. In 2008 Time put him in their top 100 of The World's Most Influential People.

Found Here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rem_Koolhaas

In their Citation, the Pritzker Prize Jury described Rem Koolhaas as a visionary and a philosopher. Critics have argued that Koolhaas ignores all consideration for beauty and taste. And, in our discussion forum, one reader responded that Koolhaas designs are "the result of architecture that wants to be different, only different."

Rem Koolhaas is, in fact, so different that scholars have difficulty classifying him. Is Koolhaas's work:

• Deconstructivist?
• Modernist?
• Structuralist?

A design like the Seattle Public Library defies labels. The Library appears to be made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms, having no visual logic. And yet the free-flowing arrangement of rooms is founded in logic and functionality.

But never mind the theoretical mumbo-jumbo. How are we to respond to structures with glass floors or erratically zigzagging stairs or shimmering translucent walls? Has Koolhaas ignored the needs and aesthetics of the people who will occupy his buildings? Or, is he using technology to show us better ways to live?

According to the Pritzker Prize Jury, Koolhaas's work is as much about ideas as it is buildings. He became famous for his writings and social commentary before any of his designs were constructed. And, some of his most celebrated designs are still only on the drawing board.

Now it's your turn to be the judge. Join us on a virtual tour of architecture by Rem Koolhaas. View photos of his work and read about his life and his ideas. Then, answer our Rem Koolhaas poll, or log onto our discussion forum and tell us what you think.

Found Here:  http://architecture.about.com/od/ideasapproaches/a/koolhaas.htm

© Christian Ritchers

One of the most prominent aspects of a design, if not the most important, is the consideration of the context and environment in which the proposed design will be found. In the case of the Dutch House by Rem Koolhaas, the unique and very challenging environmental conditions and topography of the site led to a design with interesting conditions that respond to these conditions.

More on the Dutch House in The Netherlands after the break.

© Christian Ritchers

Not only is the design limited to a four-meter height restriction, it was to be situated on a highly uneven topography yet maximize space for specific program in the private-residence. Given the difficult site, Koolaas took it upon himself to incorporate a house both above and below ground, accommodating four bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, study and two terraces.

© Christian Ritchers

Program is based on the permanent occupancy of the two parents and the temporary and visiting occupancy of their three grown-up daughters. For times without visitors or daughters, the house is kept at a manageable scale through a programmatic split and literal slab. The intentions remained to maximize the total program while minimizing the amount of formal gestures.

© Christian Ritchers

At the most basic level, one wall appears to wrap around as it defines a continuity of interior spaces and patios that function as the living spaces for the visiting daughters, remaining introverted and grounded. The wall contains all of the functional elements which allows the space surrounding it to be free and open within their glass box enclosure. A deck which appears to float becomes the supporting structure for the program of the parent’s living quarters. Connecting the two is a pivoting bridge and horizontal door that contributes patio spaces and service entries to both bedroom units.

© Christian Ritchers

This dual relationship is further emphasized and expressed through the use of multiple different treatments of glass and uses of shadings according to program and orientation. Bridging the dichotomy (literally and figuratively) is a central ramp, which provides functional and visual connections between the two separate programmatic systems.

© Christian Ritchers

The site, totaling 5,000 square meters,  is embedded in golden “beachsand” in a forest of pine in The Netherlands. Restrictions were not limited to the difficult site, but were found in the requirements of maximum height and distance from the adjacent road (both four meters). The literal interpretation of the regulations gave Koolhaas a fundamental frame which would dictate the boundaries of possible length and height.

In terms of vehicular circulation, a drive-through path was carved out to enable successful and efficient accessibility and exiting.

Architect: Rem Koolhaas
Location: The Netherlands
Project Year: 1995
Photographs: OMA
References: OMA, El Croquis, Lucy Bullivant

Found Here:  http://www.archdaily.com/120340/dutch-house-rem-koolhaas/

Louis Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939)

The British artist Louis Wain was a highly successful illustrator whose reputation was made on his singular and gently humorous pictures of cats. A cat-lover himself and sometime President of The National Cat Club, Wain claimed in an interview in 1896 that his "fanciful cat creations" were first suggested to him by Peter, his black & white cat. Demand for Wain's work diminished in the decade after the outbreak of the First World War, leaving him progressively impoverished. He began to show signs of mental disorder, including becoming aggressive,babusive and sometimes violent.
In 1924 he was certified insane and placed in the paupers' ward of Springfield Hospital at Tooting. Despite his delusional state, Wain continued to draw and paint, which led a year later to him being recognised by one of the hospital guardians and transferred to a private roomat the Royal Bethlem Hospital in Southwark, with money raised through public appeal.
In Bethlem he was allowed to draw as much as he liked, and it was here that he produced the first of his facinating series of "kaleidoscope" cats. These ranged from relatively straightforward renderings of the cat itself, though painted in intense, non-naturalistic colour and surrounded by intricate geometric patterns which deny any illusion of spatial depth, to images in which the figure of the cat is exploded in a burst of geometric fragments, the like of which are not to be found in any of Wain's work before his illness. In 1930he was moved to Napsbury in Hertfordshire, where he continued to work sporadically until his death in 1939.

Found Here: http://www.outsiderart.co.uk/wain.htm


From this point, Wain's popularity began to decline. He returned from New York broke, and his mother had died of Spanish Influenza while he was abroad. His mental instability also began around this time, and increased gradually over the years. He had always been considered quite charming, but odd, and often had difficulty in distinguishing between fact and fantasy. Others frequently found him incomprehensible, due to his way of speaking tangentially. His behaviour and personality changed, and he began to suffer from delusions, with the onset of schizophrenia. Whereas he had been a mild-mannered and trusting man, he became hostile and suspicious, particularly towards his sisters. He claimed that the flickering of the cinema screen had robbed the electricity from their brains. He began wandering the streets at night, rearranging furniture within the house, and spent long periods locked in his room, writing incoherently.
Some speculate that the onset of Wain's schizophrenia was precipitated by toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be contracted from cats. The theory that toxoplasmosis can trigger schizophrenia is the subject of ongoing research, though the origins of the theory can be traced back as early as 1953.[3][4][5][6]
When his sisters could no longer cope with his erratic and occasionally violent behavior, he was finally committed, in 1924, to a pauper ward of Springfield Mental Hospital in Tooting. A year later, he was discovered there and his circumstances were widely publicized, leading to appeals from such figures as H. G. Wells and the personal intervention of the Prime Minister. Wain was transferred to the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark, and again in 1930 to Napsbury Hospital near St Albans in Hertfordshire, north of London. This hospital was relatively pleasant, with a garden and colony of cats, and he spent his final 15 years there in peace. While he became increasingly deluded, his erratic mood swings subsided, and he continued drawing for pleasure. His work from this period is marked by bright colours, flowers, and intricate and abstract patterns, though his primary subject remained the same.

Dr. Michael Fitzgerald disputes the claim of schizophrenia, indicating Wain more than likely had Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Of particular note, Fitzgerald indicates that while Wain's art took on a more abstract nature as he grew older, his technique and skill as a painter did not diminish, as one would expect from a schizophrenic.[7] Moreover, elements of visual agnosia are demonstrated in his painting, a key element in some cases of AS. If Wain had visual agnosia, it might have manifested itself merely as an extreme attention to detail.[8]
A series of five of his paintings is commonly used as an example in psychology textbooks to putatively show the change in his style as his psychological condition deteriorated. However, it is not known if these works were created in the order usually presented, as Wain did not date them. Rodney Dale, author of Louis Wain: The Man Who Drew Cats, has criticised the belief that the five paintings can be used as an example of Wain's deteriorating mental health, writing: "Wain experimented with patterns and cats, and even quite late in life was still producing conventional cat pictures, perhaps 10 years after his [supposedly] 'later' productions which are patterns rather than cats."[9]
H. G. Wells said of him, "He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves."
His work is now highly collectible but care is needed as forgeries are common.

Found Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Wain


Louis Wain was born in the Clerkenwell district in London and became an artist, selling his sketches of dog shows to the Illustrated Sporting News. He married his youngest sister's governess, Emily Richardson, which caused quite a scandal. Unfortunately, his wife fell ill with breast cancer and died three years later. To entertain her on her sickbed, Louis Wain started drawing their cat, Peter.

Emily encouraged him to send these drawings to newspapers and magazines, and soon the Louis Wain cat was a household name, not only in Britain but also in America, where his comics and drawings of cats appeared in several newspapers. Louis Wain was elected as President of the National Cat Club and wrote the book 'In Animal Land with Louis Wain' in 1904.

After the First World War, the public's interest in cats diminished, and Wain reached a personal crisis, falling into poverty and being affected by schizophrenia when he was 57 years old. In 1924, he was certified insane and admitted to the pauper's wing of a mental hospital in Tooting.

Years later, he was recognized and a fund was set up for him (by prominents such as H.G. Wells), enabling Louis Wain to spent his last years, until his death in 1939, in comfortable asylums in Southwark and Napsbury, where he continued to draw and paint cats.

Found Here: http://lambiek.net/artists/w/wain_louis.htm

Among other things, the British artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) painted cats. Although he had formally studied at the West London School of Art and specialized in animal paintings and nature scenes, the cat paintings which would eventually define him began to spring from his brush soon after his marriage in 1883 – his wife was diagnosed with cancer soon after their nuptials, and during the period of illness, she being much comforted by cats, he began to paint cats for her in a comic and anthropomorphic style, until the time of her death, only three years after their marriage.

He continued painting cats after her death, but as the years progressed, his “style” began to change, even as his normally gentle personality transformed into a hostile and paranoid one. This was around the year 1907, and given his age at this time (47), as well as the fact that he seemed to have become profoundly mentally ill at this time, it is widely supposed that he must have been the victim of an atypical, late-onset schizophrenia (schizophrenia usually develops in the late teens and early twenties). Due his close association with cats and a probable infection with toxoplasmosis, which can be acquired from cat feces, a link between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia has been suggested, but no definitive link has been established, to date. Other authorities have disputed that he had schizophrenia at all, because a diminishment of style often results in artists who develop the disease, and Wain’s art, while increasingly bizarre in appearance, retained its technically competent character.

Asperger’s Syndrome – a form of autism – has been suggested, and this would help explain a certain “eccentricity” and oddness of manner and speech he had possessed much of his life.

Whatever the case, as Wain’s “illness” progressed, his paintings became increasingly bizarre and abstracted in appearance, to the point where they were almost frightening, and often not even recognizable as cats. His work is commonly shown as a progression, to illustrate the changes, as I have done below.

Found Here: http://rodscuriosityshop.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/the-curious-cats-of-louis-wain/

Keret House by Jakub Szczesny / Centrala

Polish architect Jakub Szczesny (Centrala) has designed an extremely narrow — but still liveable — house in Warsaw, Poland. Located in an alleyway between two buildings, the house will have ladders instead of stairs to walk up and down its four floors.

The house upon completion shall become the narrowest house in Warsaw, measuring an interior that will vary between 122 centimeters and 72 centimeters in its narrowest spot.

Mr. Szczesny built the house for Israeli writer, Etgar Keret, the symbolic patron of the project. Although Mr. Keret is Israeli, his parents met in Warsaw, which is why Mr. Szczesny wanted to build the house there.

Mr Keret will receive a key to the house and move in for the month of February, before deciding who will occupy the house next. The house will be completed by February 2012 and includes a kitchen, a bedroom, a lounge and a bathroom.

Architects: Centrala

Location: Wola, Poland

Designer: Jakub Szczęsny

Project Area: 14,5 sqm

Project Year: December 2011

Project Curators: Sarmen Beglarian, Sylwia Szymaniak

Project Announcement: Wola Art Festival “CityProjectWola“

Organizers: Modern Polish Art Foundation, President Piotr Nowicki, Wola District Office of the Capital City of Warsaw; Coordinator Anna Fiszer-Nowacka; Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska w Warszawie, Coordinator Judyta Nekanda-Trepka

Found Here: http://www.sinbadesign.com/architecture/keret-house-by-jakub-szczesny-centrala/

Maps - Heights of Mountains, Lengths of Rivers

For over 100 years, atlas and map publishers in the United States and Europe published a style of map that was a visualization of the heights and lengths of the world's mountains and rivers. Some of the earliest examples appeared in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. In the United States, the form was popular throughout the 19th century and the early part of the 20th. These maps appeared in atlases, as wall maps, and as pocket maps. One of the most elegant examples was engraved originally on copper by map publisher Henry Tanner in Philadelphia in 1836 and then continued by S. Augustus Mitchell, also of Philadelphia, in lithographic versions into the 1850's.

The Mountains and Rivers maps appeared in several styles and formats. One of the earliest styles was to show just mountains, piled up in a landscape, with a key of mountain heights on the left and right sides of the illustration. Also listed on the side would be the highest flights of the Condor, limits of plants and trees, elevations of lakes, elevation of certain high altitude cites, and climate zones. An early example in the Rumsey collection is Charles Smith's Comparative View of the Heights of the Principal Mountains &c. In The World, published in London in 1816.

Another popular style combined heights of mountains and lengths of rivers in one view. The rivers are stretched out in single lines, with the longest on the left combining with the shortest mountains, while the shortest rivers combine with the highest mountains on the right. The visual result is very compelling. One of the earliest examples was W.R. Gardner's Comparative Heights of the Principal Mountains and Lengths of the Principal Rivers, published by William Darton in London in 1823.


A third variation of the mountain and rivers designs was putting the mountains in the center of the view with the rivers extending downward on each side. One of the earliest examples of this type was published by Henry Tanner in 1836, Heights of the Principal Mountains in the World.

John Dower and Henry Teasdale published another version in London in 1844 titled Principal Mountains and Rivers of the World. It is possible that there was an earlier version of this London map that Tanner copied from - a common practice of American mapmakers in the first half of the 19th century - but Tanner's map is centered on information important to American readers and the Dower/Teasdale map is oriented to England and Europe.

Gray's new map of the World in hemispheres, with comparative views of the heights of the principal mountains and lengths of the principal rivers on the globe, of 1885, provided a simplified view of the mountains and rivers. It appeared in George N. Colby's Atlas of the State of Maine, 1885.

Found Here: http://www.davidrumsey.com/blog/2009/9/5/heights-of-mountains-lengths-of-rivers


earliest known map is a matter of some debate, both because the definition of "map" is not sharp and because some artifacts speculated to be maps might actually be something else. A wall painting, which may depict the ancient Anatolian city of Çatalhöyük (previously known as Catal Huyuk or Çatal Hüyük), has been dated to the late 7th millennium BCE.[1][2] Other known maps of the ancient world include the Minoan "House of the Admiral" wall painting from c. 1600 BCE, showing a seaside community in an oblique perspective and an engraved map of the holy Babylonian city of Nippur, from the Kassite period (14th – 12th centuries BCE).[3] The oldest surviving world maps are the Babylonian world maps from the 9th century BCE.[4] One shows Babylon on the Euphrates, surrounded by a circular landmass showing Assyria, Urartu[5] and several cities, in turn surrounded by a "bitter river" (Oceanus), with seven islands arranged around it.[6] Another depicts Babylon as being further north from the center of the world.[4]

The ancient Greeks and Romans created maps, beginning at latest with Anaximander in the 6th century BC.[7] In the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy produced his treatise on cartography, Geographia.[8] This contained Ptolemy's world map - the world then known to Western society (Ecumene). As early as the 8th century, Arab scholars were translating the works of the Greek geographers into Arabic.[9]

In ancient China, geographical literature spans back to the 5th century BC. The oldest extant Chinese maps come from the State of Qin, dated back to the 4th century BC, during the Warring States Period. In the book of the Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao, published in 1092 by the Chinese scientist Su Song, a star map on the equidistant cylindrical projection.[10][11] Although this method of charting seems to have existed in China even prior to this publication and scientist, the greatest significance of the star maps by Su Song is that they represent the oldest existent star maps in printed form.

Early forms of cartography of India included the locations of the Pole star and other constellations of use.[12] These charts may have been in use by the beginning of the Common Era for purposes of navigation.[12]Mappa mundi is the general term used to describe Medieval European maps of the world. Approximately 1,100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents.[13]

The Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi produced his medieval atlas Tabula Rogeriana in 1154. He incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East, gathered by Arab merchants and explorers with the information inherited from the classical geographers to create the most accurate map of the world up until his time. It remained the most accurate world map for the next three centuries.[14]

In the Age of Exploration, from the 15th century to the 17th century, European cartographers both copied earlier maps (some of which had been passed down for centuries) and drew their own based on explorers' observations and new surveying techniques. The invention of the magnetic compass, telescope and sextant enabled increasing accuracy. In 1492, Martin Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest extant globe of the Earth.[15]

Found Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartography

MVRDV designs The Cloud for Seoul’s Yongsan Dreamhub

And here's another Dutch firm that just designed an unusual residential tower for a booming Asian metropolis: Yongsan Dreamhub corporation presented the MVRDV-designed residential development of the Yongsan Business district in Seoul, South Korea: two connected luxury residential high-rises. A 260 meter tall tower and a 300 meter tall tower are connected in the center by a pixelated cloud of additional program offering amenities and outside spaces with wide views. The towers with a total surface of 128,000m2 are expected to be completed in 2015.

Project Description from the Architects:

The two towers are positioned at the entrance of the Yongsan Dreamhub project, a master plan designed by Studio Libeskind, extending the business district of the South Korean capital Seoul. The southern tower reaches a height of 260 meters with 54 floors, the northern tower 300 meters with 60 floors. Halfway, at the level of the 27th floor the cloud is positioned, a 10 floor tall pixelated volume, connecting the two towers. The cloud differentiates the project from other luxury developments, it moves the plinth upwards and makes space on ground floor level for public gardens, designed by Martha Schwartz.

Usually a high-rise adds little to the immediate surrounding city life, by integrating public program to the cloud the typology adds in a more social way to the city. Inside the cloud, besides the residential function, 14,357m2 of amenities are located: the sky lounge - a large connecting atrium, a wellness centre, conference centre, fitness studio, various pools, restaurants and cafes. On top of the cloud are a series of public and private outside spaces, patios, decks, gardens and pools. To allow fast access the cloud is accessible by special express elevators.

The luxurious apartments range from 80m2 to 260m2 of which some offer double height ceilings , patios or gardens. The towers with a perfect square floor plan contain four corner apartments per floor offering each fine daylight conditions and cross ventilation. Each tower is accessed via a grand lobby at ground level; the rest of the ground floor is divided into town houses. In addition to the amenities the Cloud furthermore contains 9,000m2 of Officetel (Office-Hotel) a typical Korean typology and 25,000m2 panoramic apartments with specific lay-outs. The top floors of both towers are reserved for penthouse apartments of 1200m2 with private roof gardens.

Found Here: http://www.bustler.net/index.php/article/mvrdv_designs_the_cloud_for_seouls_yongsan_dreamhub/

Albert Dorne

Albert Dorne’s success as an illustrator, and later as a businessman, is a resounding testament
to good old-fashioned hard work and perseverance. Born into the slums of New York’s East Side in 1904, Dorne’s childhood was marred by severe poverty and illness. Overcoming tuberculosis, a heart condition, as well as a thoroughly inadequate education, Albert Dorne never lost sight of the artistic ambitions of his childhood.

Dorne was forced to quit school at the age of thirteen, managing four newsstands in order
to support his mother and family. Over the next fewyears he would work as an office boy,
salesman, shipping clerk and for a brief period–an amateur boxer. Taking a job as an unpaid
artist’s assistant, Dorne would rise through the ranks of the illustration world, to become one of the highest-paid advertising artists of his day. His work would appear regularly in magazines
such as Life, Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post.

In 1948, Albert Dorne would turn his attention to education, starting the Famous Artists School correspondence course, enlisting twelve of the most successful current illustrators as instructors– including Norman Rockwell, Al Parker andRobert Fawcett. The inspiration for this business venture was born out of the continuous stream of young artists beseeching Dorne for advice, as well as his great personal desire to share his knowledge and valuable experience. He would later start the Famous Writers School and Famous Photographers School in the early 1950′s, which, combined with the artists course, would reach over 50,000 students worldwide.

Dorne was also instrumental in founding the Code of Ethics and Fair Practices of the Profession of Commercial Art and Illustration, and also served as the President of the Society of Illustrators from 1947-1948. Dorne received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1958, from Adelphi College and later in 1963, he was awarded the Horatio Alger Award for Achievement by the American Schools and Colleges Association. Albert Dorne passed away on December 15, 1965 at the University Hospital in New York.

Found Here: http://illostribute.com/

Laura Laine

Laura Laine is a Helsinki based illustrator.
She has studied fashion design at University of Art and Design Helsinki, but during her studies focused on fashion illustration. After completing her studies she has been working full-time as a freelance illustrator and is also teaching fashion illustration at the university.

Her recent clients include Vogue Nippon, GAP, I.T. store, Elle, Zara, Telegraph, Rad Hourani, The New York Times T magazine, Tommy Hilfiger, Muse magazine, The Guardian, I.T. Post magazine, Iben Hoej, and Daniel Palillo. She has also exhibited in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Found Here: http://www.lauralaine.net/