Property dissertation examples

A Pragmatic and Visionary Design Process

As a reaction to what they believed was uncontrolled and undirected expansion of the built environment in the Netherlands, OMA undertook an investigation entitled Point/South City that provoked a rethink of trends in urban formation and planning. It proposed new ways of tackling problems and relationships associated with the city, landscape and sprawl. 

OMA, the Rotterdam based architecture firm of Rem Koolhaas, approached the subject in a functional, pragmatic manner now often associated with Dutch architects and urban planners. Based on thorough research and analysis, a catalogue of possibility was set out, which displayed innovative and at times extreme outcomes. The intention of the study was boldly set out and enhanced by its cogent presentation of simple provocative diagrams and comparative investigations. History and context were largely rejected and the process, unlike many urban and architectural projects, did not rely upon an external philosophy or theory.

The built environment in the Netherlands is, in a broad sense, highly controlled, OMA therefore question why this erosive expansion is able to take place and how it can be countered. But, is the project meant to be taken literally as an effective solution to these problems? Or as a persuasive argument aimed at people to reconsider their preconceptions? Point/South City can be seen as a rhetorical approach, which does what is does for effect, rather than to come to a final outcome or solution to a problem. It shifts people’s thoughts to observe the topic from a different stance than that which they are used to. It does not provide an answer, or even a design, in the strictest sense of the word. The aim is to make people question what is happening around them. Is Dutch planning policy shaping the future? Is the country full? Can suburban development be sustained? What is the relationship between urbanism and landscape?

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