Towards a New Architecture

written by Dietmar Steiner

 

In the development of culture, there are long waves   that cannot be influenced either by individuals, or groups or movements. These waves  call attention to certain phenomena that, when the waves retreat again, fall into oblivion. Nevertheless, they still remain present in the sea of ideas and will resurface again in some other arrangement, with a new wave. This is how the abstract, constructivist contribution by Rem Koolhaas and OMA to the exhibition “Strada Novissima” could be evaluated on the occasion of the Biennale of Architecture in Venice in 1980. Among all the realistic “facade pieces” by other architects, it was a cause for wonder, but nevertheless, it was present.