Lecture 9 - Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 - Strategies of the Void

Oct 26, 2026

Lecture 9 analyzes Rem Koolhaas’s approach to architectural diagrams through the lens of “Strategies of the Void,” connecting iconic buildings, symbolic diagrams, and iconic diagram practices. It discusses Walter Benjamin’s idea of architecture seen in distraction and examines how Koolhaas treats the diagram as an icon or applies iconic diagrams to shaping form. The talk focuses on the Jussieu Libraries project as a shift in Koolhaas’s diagrammatic thinking, and links void, poche, and latent force concepts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time1 h 5 min

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Strategies of the Void

Walter Benjamin and iconic buildings

Diagrams: symbolic vs iconic

Jussieu Libraries as an inflection point

Void, poche, and latent force

Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 8. Strategies of the Void Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Koolhaas, CCTV REX, Museum Plaza Koolhaas, Waterfront City, Dubai What does Walter Benjamin’s remark mean in reference to the iconic buildings of today? “If Walter Benjamin, in his famous and oft-quoted remark, said that architecture is viewed in a state of distraction, then the iconic buildings so prevalent today may reflect this condition.’“ S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Koolhaas, New York Athletic Club and Seattle Public Library “This prominence of iconic buildings relates to two factors: first, perhaps to a tendency to treat the diagram as an icon; second, a tendency to apply the iconic diagram directly to the problem of generating form.“ S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Koolhaas, New York Athletic Club “Much of Rem Koolhaas’s earliest work explores the diagram as a symbolic form; for example, the New York Athletic Club becomes symbolic of a discontinuous formal diagram.“ S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Koolhaas, Seattle Public Library “However, much of his recent work, such as the Seattle Public Library or the Casa da Musicain Proto, privileges the idea of an iconic diagram in that the realized form of the building has a visual similitude to its diagram of functions..“ S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Koolhaas, Jussieu Libaries “It can be argued that Koolhaas’s 1992 project for the Jussieu Libraries takes a position between these two types of diagrams – that is, that it marks an inflection point in Koolhaas’s shift from a symbolic to an iconic diagram, and that this movement is registered through a critique of the diagrams of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.“ S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg “ Palais des Congres-Strasbourg because in section the project implies a continuity between the ground and the roof denies the ground as a datum by suggesting that the ground is conceived as a malleable fabric, capable of being pulled up to meet the roof.” S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 What is poche? “ Koolhaas uses the void an inversion of poche” S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 Luigi Moretti, Plaster Cast Latent – present or potential but not evident or active Force – the capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power What does it meet to “capture its energy …as a latent force contained between layers of solid floors”? “While architects such as Luigi Moretti sought to solidify the void, Koolhaas instead seeks to capture its energy by conceptualizing the void as a latent force contained between layers of solid floors.” S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture UofA Lecture 9: Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries, 1992-93 How does void become poche in Tres Grande Bibliotheque? “’Strategy of the Void’ describes the library as a solid stack from which volumes are carved ’The major public spaces are defined as absences of building, voids carved out of the information solid.’” “ the project conceives the void not only as a critique of modernist precedents, but also as a means to rethink the relationship between the subject and the object of architecture, and ultimately to suggest another f

FAQs

What does Walter Benjamin’s remark mean in relation to today’s iconic buildings?

The remark suggests architecture is viewed in a state of distraction, and the lecture argues that today’s iconic buildings may reflect this condition.

How does Koolhaas treat architectural diagrams in his work?

The lecture contrasts treating the diagram as an icon with applying iconic diagrams directly to generating form, and it notes an early focus on diagrams as symbolic form.

How does the concept of void connect to poche and to Koolhaas’s library strategy?

It explains void as an inversion of poche and describes Koolhaas’s approach to capturing the void’s energy as a latent force between layers of solid floors, linking this to how voids are carved from a solid information stack.

Oct 26, 2026

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