S M L Xl By Rem Koolhaas And Bruce Mau

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Riitta Palazzo

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Aug 3, 2024, 4:36:54 PM8/3/24

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Apart from obvious plans and sections, the book was a graphic overture that weaved free-wheeling essays, diary excerpts, photographs, architectural sketches, cartoons, doodles, and surreal montages of images fables, fairy tales, and a variety of insightful poetic writings and travelogues. The book intended to trigger the next generation architects out of their rudimentary thinking and negate the urban despair.

Running throughout the book there is a dictionary of the new koolhaasian language which also includes definitions, quotes, and commentaries from various architectural sources. It is more often termed as a stream of consciousness with loosely connected words that form a dictionary.

The book glorifies the reality of the process. A messy process filled with scribbles; red lines that sometimes even makes it illegible. For instance, there is a drawing that depicts that people were discussing this drawing and left a mark on it. This is proof that architecture lives.

The book by Bruce Mau and Rem Koolhaas is a monument to and a polemic about labour. It lays out reasons as to why one could try to overthrow the conventional architectural system. The discourse prepared by renowned designers has paved a path for new thoughts and is an eye-opener for coming generations. The book is not easily accessible or understandable but persistence may deliver more than expected.