"The 20th century taught us that utopian thinking can have precarious consequences, wagering the fate of mankind on the uncertain outcome of grand intellectual speculations. But, if the course of history is dialectic, what follows? Does the 21st century mark the absence of utopias? What are the dangers of that?"
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Reinier de Graaf joined OMA in 1996. As a Partner of OMA he is responsible for building and masterplanning projects in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, including the Stadskantoor and Coolsingel mixed-use buildings in Rotterdam, the new G-Star Headquarters in Amsterdam, and the Commonwealth Institute and Morden Wharf mixed use development in London.
De Graaf directs the work of AMO, the research and design studio established as a counterpart to the architectural practice of OMA. He has overseen AMO's increasing involvement in sustainability and energy planning, which has included Zeekracht: a strategic Masterplan for the North Sea, the publication in 2010 of "Roadmap 2050: A Practical Guide to a Prosperous, Low-Carbon Europe" with the European Climate Foundation, and "The Energy Report," a global plan for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, made with the WWF.
Over the last several years, de Graaf has also worked extensively in Moscow, first by overseeing OMA’s proposal to design the Masterplan for the Skolkovo Centre for Innovation, or “Russian Silicon Valley”. In 2012, OMA AMO led a consortium which proposed a development concept for the Moscow Agglomeration: an urban plan for Greater Moscow. Since 2010, De Graaf has also been involved in the founding and curriculum development of The Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design, and continues to teach as part of its post-graduate educational program.
De Graaf has recently curated two exhibitions, On Hold at the British School in Rome in 2011 and the travelling exhibition Public Works: Architecture by Civil Servants (Venice Biennale, 2012; Berlin, 2013).
Prior to working at OMA, De Graaf worked for architecture firms in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He holds an architecture diploma from Delft University and a masters degree in architecture from the Berlage Institute.
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