Tibor Pataky OMA’s Kunsthal - in Rotterdam Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe

Oct 26, 2026

Acknowledgments and contents for a book by Tibor Pataky on OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam, connecting the project to Rem Koolhaas and “the New Europe.” The material outlines plate sections and chapters tracing the Kunsthal’s development, from the Dijkzigt area and OMA’s 1980s context through Museumpark and Kunsthal I/II, then toward modernism’s reassessment in the late 1980s and 1990. Support from scholars, practitioners, archives, and research funders underpins the architectural history and theory approach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages215

Reading Time5 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Plates 1.1–1.18

Introduction Plates 2.1–2.8

1—Doom and Gloom OMA in the 1980s

2—The Better Half of Architecture OMA’s Museumpark

3—An Overdue Crisis

4—Squaring the Circle

5—Modernism Obsolete A New Approach for a New Europe

6—Fragmentations The Development of the Design 1989–92

7—Excess Is Always a Bearer of Consciousness The Building of October 1992

Appendix

Tibor Pataky OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe Tibor Pataky 7 37 61 97 145 197 245 293 377 417 Contents Acknowledgments Plates 1.1–1.18 Kunsthal, Legnani/Cappelletti 2017 Introduction Plates 2.1–2.8 Rotterdam’s Dijkzigt Area 1—Doom and Gloom OMA in the 1980s Plates 3.1–3.6 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Museumpark Rotterdam 2—The Better Half of Architecture OMA’s Museumpark Plates 4.1–4.12 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Kunsthal I and NAi, 1988 3—An Overdue Crisis Kunsthal I, the NAi, and Deconstructivist Architecture Plates 5.1–5.8 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Kunsthal II, November/ December 1988 4—Squaring the Circle Kunsthal II: The Scheme of December 1988 Plates 6.1–6.14 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Kunsthal, January/February 1989 5—Modernism Obsolete A New Approach for a New Europe Plates 7.1–7.14 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Kunsthal, April 19, 1990 6—Fragmentations The Development of the Design 1989–92 Plates 8.1–8.18 OMA/ Rem Koolhaas, Kunsthal, the construction site and completed building 7—Excess Is Always a Bearer of Consciousness The Building of October 1992 Plates 9.1–9.14 Kunsthal, new drawings Appendix Acknowledgments In retrospect, four individuals have been pivotal in determining my approach to architectural history: Bernardo Secchi, who stirred my interest in the history and theory of architecture through his lectures at Università Iuav di Venezia; architects Lorenzo Giuliani and Christian Hönger, who introduced me to the art of building at their offices in Zurich; and Markus Peter, who introduced me to writing about construction. While I was his assistant at ETH Zurich it was his research that taught me to look at construction as a “battleground of architectural theory” rather than as a craft. I owe deep thanks to Christophe Van Gerrewey for his generosity, persistent support, criticism, and trust in supervising the doctoral thesis upon which this book is based. I am similarly grateful to Roberto Gargiani, Martino Stierli, and Pier Vittorio Aureli for their comments and advice. Thanks also to student assistants Romain Barth and Alice Biber for their commitment to drawings of the Kunsthal. Further, I would like to thank Fuminori Hoshino for sharing his recollections and thoughts in a series of particularly intense and enriching conversations. Thanks to Rem Koolhaas (also for his generous support), Petra Blaisse, Toni Adam, Gregor Mescherowsky, Koos Hage, Wim van Krimpen, Kees Christiaanse, Mike Guyer, Oliver Lütjens, Christine Enzmann Giuliani, and Job Floris. I am indebted to each of them for the valuable clues, insights, and ideas that emerged from our conversations and correspondence. I thank the Swiss National Science Foundation for funding the research and for supporting this book with a grant. Furthermore, I am thankful for the financial support of the Lab of Architecture, Criticism, History, and Theory at EPFL Lausanne. Special thanks go to the staff at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Stadsarchief Rotterdam, and to Annemarie Nigten of Kunsthal Rotterdam for granting access to the latter. Thanks also to the staff at the Stadsontwikkeling department in Rotterdam, the OMA Archives in Rotterdam, Arup’s London archives, Inside Outside in Amsterdam, the architecture collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the library at EPFL. Three more people have contributed to this book in ways that are as significant as they are different: Thomas Padmanabhan during numerous conversations filled with curiosity and astute comments; Michelangelo Sabatino as a mentor of strategic choices; and of course my wife Barbara for the thousand acts of kindness that only a daily companion can provide. 7 OMA/ Rem Koo l haas, Kunst ha l . Photos: Legnani/ Cappelletti 2017 Plates 1 .1–1.18 P 1.1 The building along Westzeedijk. P 1.2 South fa

FAQs

Who authored the book about OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam?

Tibor Pataky is the author referenced in the document text.

What major sections and chapters does the contents list include?

The contents list plates and chapters progressing from Rotterdam’s Dijkzigt area through OMA’s Kunsthal I and II, then to modernism’s reassessment and later design fragmentations.

How was the research for the book supported?

The acknowledgments credit the Swiss National Science Foundation and financial support connected to EPFL, along with access granted by multiple archives and institutions.

Oct 26, 2026

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