OMAs Kunsthal in Rotterdam: Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe

Opened in 1992, the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is a key design in the portfolio of Rem Koolhaas and OMA, the renowned firm Koolhaas co-founded in 1975. It is part of the Museumpark, a park designed by OMA as well and the location of the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut NAi, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and the Museum of Natural History. The Kunsthal’s exhibition space is divided into three large exhibition halls and two smaller galleries. The building houses also an auditorium and a restaurant.

This outstanding space for art is a prime destination for countless architecture fans every year. Tibor Pataky, architect and architectural historian, celebrates it in this inspiring book. He explains the history, the programmatic background, and the cultural references of the design, which has been adapted several times, and places it in the context of OMA’s work of the 1980s and of the intellectual environment of Deconstructivism. Ten captivating photo series highlight the structure’s outstanding qualities and its embedding in the park. New plans, especially drawn for this book, illustrate the shear points of OMA’s design. The volume is a hugely attractive tribute to one of the most significant works of post-WW II architecture in Europe.