Rem Before Koolhaas : Journalism by an Architect – Antonio Cantero
Available in English for the first time, this fascinating volume brings together Rem Koolhaas's early journalism from the 1960s, reproduced alongside the original Haagse Post layouts and Dutch-language texts. Featuring a foreword by architectural historian Beatriz Colomina, Rem Before Koolhaas: Journalism by an Architect offers a revealing glimpse into the formative years of one of architecture's most influential figures.
Before founding OMA and becoming a defining voice in contemporary architecture, Rem Koolhaas worked as a journalist for the Dutch magazine Haagse Post between 1963 and 1967. During this period, he interviewed leading cultural figures including Le Corbusier, Constant and Federico Fellini, while reporting on the social and cultural movements reshaping the Netherlands, from the Provos to Amsterdam's countercultural scene.
In this insightful study, architect and scholar Antonio Cantero re-examines Koolhaas's journalistic output, exploring how his interviews evolved into incisive essayistic reflections on power, society and cultural change. Accompanied by a new interview with Koolhaas, the book reveals the intellectual curiosity and observational skills that would later inform his architectural thinking.
Richly illustrated with original magazine layouts and newly translated texts, Rem Before Koolhaas presents these writings not simply as a precursor to an architectural career, but as a significant body of work in their own right. The result is a compelling portrait of Koolhaas as a writer, observer and cultural critic, offering fresh insight into the development of one of architecture's most provocative and influential minds.
Antonio Cantero is an architect and Assistant Professor of Architecture at TU Delft. His research examines the intersections of architecture, media and cultural production
Author: Antonio Cantero
Publisher: nai010 Publishers
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9789462089457
Publication date: June 2026