Projects / Lecturers

Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas, one of the world's leading architects and architectural theorists, presented his latest work at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade and to Belgrade audience, focusing on the architectural and identity issues. Among numerous prestigious international awards, Mr. Koolhaas was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2001 (the architecture's equivalent of Nobel Prize) and the Japan's highest honor, Praemium Imperiale Award 2003. Mr. Koolhaas practices architecture through his Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) studio based in Rotterdam and New York, and teaches at the Harvard Design School. More info: http://www.oma.nl/

While in Belgrade, Rem Koolhaas started a workshop NEW IDENTITY FOR SERBIA? by opening a discussion session with local artists, theorists, architects, sociologists, anthropologists and marketing professionals. Diverse professionals met with Mr. Koolhaas in a relaxed atmosphere to discuss topics such as integration, globalisation, post-communism and influence of Milosevic era. They focused on issues critical for positioning Serbia within wider political and economic context.

Koolhaas' participation in the panel announced co-operation of various international professionals and theorists in a year-long project resulting in series of public discussions, an exhibition and a printed collection of ideas and proposals for development of a clear cultural, corporate, national and economic strategy for positioning Serbia as a country on the regional and global level. The results of the workshop, ranging from essays to video installations, were forwarded to Mr. Koolhaas as valuable research material, followed by the MIKSER BOOKS/YUSTAT publication which documented all the events during Mr. Koolhaas' visit to Belgrade, including interviews, lecture and discussion transcripts, photographs, and the final results of the workshop.

Mr. Koolhaas was accompanied by two members of his research team that have conducted a brief survey of urban conditions within the political, economic and cultural context of contemporary Serbia. These issues were of potential interest for Koolhaas' new Harvard publication "Communism-Orchestrated Progress".

In co-operation with PaPs (Public Art and Public Space) , YUSTAT and Anthropology Studies Student Club, MIKSER has organised a local support team to assist Mr. Kollhaas and his colleagues at site visits, access to various information sources, translations, meetings, interviews.

Sponsors:
- Royal Netherlands Embassy in Belgrade
- Ministry of Culture of Republic of Serbia
- The Agency for Building Land and Reconstruction

lectures / Gallery