132 Quotes by Rem Koolhaas

The acceptance of certain realities doesn't preclude idealism. It can lead to certain breakthroughs.

The great problem of the concert hall is that the shoebox is the ideal shape for acoustics but that no architect worth their names wants to build a shoebox.

What is now called 'green architecture' is an opportunistic caricature of a much deeper consideration of the issues related to sustainability that architecture has been engaged with for many years. It was one of the first professions that was deeply concerned with these issues and that had an intellectual response to them.

It is not possible to live in this age if you don't have a sense of many contradictory forces.

It's a weird city because the uglier the weather, the more beautiful the city. And the uglier the buildings, the more coherent the city.

Influence is a very unpleasant subject and I deal with it in a maybe irresponsible way, which is to really ignore it. It would be a nightmare if we started to really think about it; it would tie our hands, it would tie everyone elses hands.

If you have this reputation you can sit back and endure it, or you can try to do things with it.

The luxury of our position now is that we can almost assemble any team to address any issue.

One of our theories is that one can offset this excessive compulsion toward the spectacular with a return to simplicity.