Reinier deGraaf: What changed? Thoughts on the Role of Architecture

"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?"

 

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 GStar 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.