"I have a confession to make: I have no idea what placemaking is"
Discussions about planning and urbanism are awash with talk of "placemaking" but the term remains strangely and troublingly opaque, writes Reinier de Graaf. More
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The Line architects explain Saudi mega city in Discovery Channel documentary
Architects including Thom Mayne, Peter Cook and Reinier de Graaf have explained the thinking behind planned megacity The Line in a recently released 45-minute documentary. More
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"Listening to any contemporary conversation on architecture is like being indulged in a form of Orwellian Newspeak"
Architects must stop using the vacuous buzzwords that dominate the profession if they are to make a positive difference in the world, writes Reinier de Graaf. More
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Covid-19 has helped kill "indiscriminate international architecture" says Reinier de Graaf
The coronavirus pandemic has helped encourage a return to regional architectural styles, according to OMA partner Reinier de Graaf. More
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Live panel discussion with OMA's Reinier de Graaf about his novel The Masterplan
Dutch architect Reinier de Graaf talked about his latest novel The Masterplan in this live panel discussion by Dezeen for Architecture Matters. More
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"Hospitals in drastic, drastic need of innovation" says Reinier de Graaf
Dutch architecture studio OMA has produced a film exploring hospital design as part of its research into its first hospital buildings. Partner at the studio Reinier de Graaf tells Dezeen how he envisions the hospital of the future. More
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"The current crisis has exposed the structural shortcomings of our healthcare systems"
The coronavirus has exposed fundamental problems with our healthcare systems that we should not forget once the pandemic passes, warns Reinier de Graaf in a letter to the present from the future. More
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"Too much is at stake to leave architecture to architects"
The emotional and economic impacts of cities are closely connected, but this is lost in a proliferation of meaningless phrases like "healthy placemaking" and "human-centric design", says Reinier de Graaf. More
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"Can a house be beautiful simply because of what we know, not because of what we see?"
A simple house features on the cover of Reinier de Graaf's new book, Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession. In this extract, the OMA partner reveals the building's secret, politically fuelled past. More
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London's new Design Museum by John Pawson and OMA unveiled
The Design Museum's new £83-million London home by John Pawson and OMA is set to open next week at the former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington. More
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"Smart devices introduce a fundamental ambiguity over who is in charge"
Opinion: "smart" technology promises to make our lives easier by learning what we like and giving us more of it, says Reinier de Graaf. But who will really be in control when the machines know everything about us? More
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"The smart city is the ultimate free-for-all"
Opinion: is the idea of the smart city really just another way for big businesses to make even more money, asks Reinier de Graaf, who revisits the subject against his own better judgement. More
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"Academics need to break out of their loop and get back into the real world"
Opinion: dominated by old boys who think their view is the only one that matters, architecture academia in the US has become insular and out of touch, says Reinier de Graaf, who finds a perfect illustration in a recent debate at the Chicago Architecture Biennial. More
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"Charisma allows the architect to speak with authority, even when he has no clue"
Opinion: charisma can't be learned, but it is often the architect's last line of defence against demanding clients and unsavoury economic realties, says Reinier de Graaf. More
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"The smart city blinds us to the possibility of political action"
Opinion: the limitless prosperity once promised by urbanisation has failed to materialise, leaving rapidly growing inequality in its wake. It will take more than some clever technology to solve the problems with the world's biggest cities, says Reinier de Graaf. More
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"More than just a political system, Europe is a form of modernisation"
Opinion: in the noughties, architects OMA worked on a series of optimistic projects for the European Union, including a proposal for a colourful EU Barcode flag and an exhibition suggesting that a united Europe "could be fun". With the EU looking increasingly fragile, OMA partner Reinier de Graaf wonders if they should have bothered. More
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"The same architecture that once embodied social mobility now helps to prevent it"
Opinion: the ideals of Modernism can't survive the pressures of a voracious market that views buildings purely as capital, says Reinier de Graaf. More
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"Definitely not a bridge"
Opinion: Dutch architecture firm OMA was among 74 entrants for a competition to design a new footbridge across London's River Thames – but its entry was more about making a statement than trying to win, explains practice partner Reinier de Graaf. More
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At your service: 10 tips for becoming a successful urban consultant
Opinion: OMA partner Reinier de Graaf offers his top 10 tips for architects interested in branching out into urban consultancy, including "avoid writing" and "invoice early and invoice often". More
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"An underdose of utopia can be as dangerous as an overdose" - Reinier de Graaf
In the final movie we filmed with Reinier de Graaf of OMA at the Venice Architecture Biennale, he discusses the firm's fascination with architecture of the late 1960s and how there is an "inherent paradox between the brutal appearance of these buildings and the social mission that they were part of." More
