Oma’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam: Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe

A history of the acclaimed Kunsthal in Rotterdam.

Opened in 1992, the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is a key design in the portfolio of Rem Koolhaas, one of the most influential architectural thinkers of our time, and OMA, the renowned firm he cofounded in 1975. It is part of the Museumpark, a park designed by OMA and the location of the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut NAi, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and the Museum of Natural History.

This outstanding space for art is a destination for countless architecture fans every year. It is celebrated by Tibor Pataky, architect and architectural historian, in this inspiring book. He explains the history, the programmatic background, and the cultural references of the design. He also places it in the context of OMA’s work of the 1980s and the intellectual environment of Deconstructivism. Nine captivating series of illustrations--historic and new photographs, plans and documents from OMA’s archive, newly drawn plans of the finished building, and other images--focus on the structure’s outstanding qualities. OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam is a tribute to one of the most significant works of post-WWII architecture in Europe.

Tibor Pataky is a Zurich-based architect, architectural historian, and fiction author.