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S, M, L, XL [Hardcover]

Rem Koolhaas (Author), Bruce Mau (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Koolhaas, Dutch architect, author (Delirious New York) and cult figure, wants architecture to be "a chaotic adventure," and this massive tome certainly is. Created with Toronto-based designer Mau, it's a huge collage splicing freewheeling essays, diary excerpts, photographs, architectural plans, sketches, cartoons and surreal montages of images. There's also a running glossary of Zen-like definitions, plus fables and parables intended to shake modern architects out of conventional thinking and to dispel urban despair. In one essay, Koolhaas admires Japan's metabolist movement, which fuses organic, scientific, mechanistic and romantic vocabularies. That approach seems compatible with his own innovative, eclectic vision as head of the Dutch firm Office of Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.), whose houses, villas, office towers, libraries, colleges, cultural complexes and other projects are showcased here. While some readers may be mystified by a nonlinear hodgepodge, architects, planners and designers will find this frequently outrageous assemblage a provocative repository of ideas. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

S,M,L,XL presents a selection of the remarkable visionary design work produced by the Dutch firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.) and its acclaimed founder, Rem Koolhaas, in its first twenty years, along with a variety of insightful, often poetic writings. The inventive collaboration between Koolhaas and designer Bruce Mau is a graphic overture that weaves together architectural projects, photos and sketches, diary excerpts, personal travelogues, fairy tales, and fables, as well as critical essays on contemporary architecture and society.

The book's title is also its framework: projects and essays are arranged according to scale. While Small and Medium address issues ranging from the domestic to the public, Large focuses on what Koolhaas calls "the architecture of Bigness." Extra-Large features projects at the urban scale, along with the important essay "What Ever Happened to Urbanism?" and other studies of the contemporary city. Running throughout the book is a "dictionary" of an adventurous new Koolhaasian language -- definitions, commentaries, and quotes from hundreds of literary, cultural, artistic, and architectural sources.
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (12)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars S,M,L,XL, Sep 17 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: S, M, L, XL (Hardcover)
Possibly one of the many great books on architecture of today with plenty of references and clean graphics. A must have for all architecs or if you just want a wonderfully beautiful book for your home or office.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for fakery or No wonder architects get a bad press., Jun 22 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: S, M, L, XL (Hardcover)
This is one of the most spurious books on architecture and town planning that it has ever been my misfortune to browse through: too long to read and badly needs an editor. Heavyweight only in the sense of it weighing something like 5 pounds. Many of the ideas second-hand or self-evident, and the graphics are hard to follow too. Koolhaas's little jokes with the ® and © symbols are plain unfunny. Phrases like The Emperor'sNew Clothes® or Could Do Better spring to mind. Bernard Meares, Geneva, Switzerland.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Review by an architect..., Aug 12 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: S, M, L, XL (Hardcover)
This is one of the finest books dealing with Architectural concerns of the last few years. A book which will be read again and again and used as a reference for a lot of parrallel issues a student may come across. I enjoyed the book for the different essays esp. the one on Singapore and Atlanta. that is the beauty of the book. Rather than simply talking about his work He explains the city, site imp. historical references and this is such an important aspect of process today. I also enjoyed his style of writing. serious issues coloured with a lot of wit and humour. A must buy.
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