SeattleScape » Blog Archive » Koolhaas: It’s the end of an era

Koolhaas: It’s the end of an era

"Library Side East" by Stephen L. Rosen

Rem Koolhaas, who designed the Seattle Central Public Library, and more recently the CCTV Building in Beijing, told the Wall Street Journal that money is scarce for megaprojects, even for him.

“I don’t even know about the word ‘downturn,’ ” Koolhaas told the WSJ in his office in Rotterdam. “It seems simply the end to a period.”

Though his firm, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, hasn’t had any projects canceled yet, Koolhaas said they have several projects on hold.

And they’ve had to make layoffs. WSJ reported that the firm, which had 270 employees last summer, is now down to 220. OMA is working on a theater complex in Taipei, a library in Qatar and new buildings in Holland, WSJ reports.

Has your firm had layoffs too? Respond to the poll on the right (scroll down just a tad) on area layoffs at A/E/C firms.

Tags: Architecture, Downturn, Koolhaas

This entry was posted by Shawna Gamache on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 9:51 am and is filed under Architecture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Koolhaas: It’s the end of an era”

SeattleScape » Blog Archive » Mag: OSKA among world’s ‘Top 10′ Says:
May 4th, 2009 at 11:43 am
[...] who’ve done projects in our own backyard. Rem Koolhaas’s OMA is fourth on the list. The Dutch designer’s recent projects include the CCTV building in Beijing and our own Seattle Central [...]

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Lynn Porter is the architecture and engineering editor at the DJC. She previously covered real estate for the newspaper. Porter loves cities and the urban landscape despite having a sense of direction that gives her a 50-50 shot of going the wrong way when leaving any building.

She has her own ideas about zoning, transit, historic preservation and other issues involving Seattle, but thinks yours are probably more interesting. So please offer your comments, and if you have news tips, contact Porter at lynn.porter@djc.com or at (206) 622-8272.

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Jon Silver is a DJC reporter and special section editor who has been living in Seattle since 1998. He gained his street smarts growing up on the mean cul-de-sacs of a master-planned community in Omaha, Neb.

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Patrick Doherty is economic development director for the city of Federal Way. He previously worked for the city of Seattle in planning and development, including managing the Design Review Program from 1994 to 2001. Patrick chaired the Queen Anne/Magnolia/South Lake Union Design Review Board from 2006 to 2008. He lives on Queen Anne Hill, enjoys exploring the city and the greater Pacific Northwest, photography, foreign languages and national and international travel.

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Matt Hays has loved Seattle since birth. He lives in Belltown, walks nearly everywhere, and recently rediscovered bicycling. Matt is slightly obsessed with issues like pedestrian safety, parks and vibrant neighborhoods. He's read every DJC since high school. Since 1996 Matt has been the proposal writer at Lease Crutcher Lewis.

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Mark Hinshaw is the director of urban design for LMN Architects. He has served as president of the Washington chapter of the American Planning Association and as president of AIA Seattle. From 1982-1990, he was principal urban designer for the city of Bellevue. His second book, "True Urbanism: Living In and Near the Center," was recently released.

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Irene Wall is a north Seattle native. She is the president of the Phinney Ridge Community Council and the Chair of the City Neighborhood Council's Neighborhood Planning Committee. During the day she works in professional services marketing for Tetra Tech Infrastructure Group, a national engineering and architecture firm. After (long) hours, she's a citizen crusader to protect views, open space, and the good life in Seattle.

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Roger Valdez is a former city council and legislative staffer and consultant with an interest in land use and urban livability. He produces the blog Seattle's Land Use Code. He also writes for publications including Crosscut.