INTERVIEW
JOSHUA PRINCE-RAMUS The founder of REX Architecture and onetime OMA partner talks to Kim Megson about rejecting ‘starchitecture’, embracing philosophy and designing an arts centre at Ground Zero
H Prince-Ramus was the founding partner of OMA New York, before rebranding the firm as REX in 2006
54 CLADGLOBAL.COM
as there ever been a more prolific and consistent architectural talent factory than Rem Koolhaas’ Office of Metropolitan Architecture? Over four decades, the studio has launched the careers of a whole generation of today’s most influential and skyline-shaping designers; among them Zaha Hadid, Jeanne Gang, Ole Scheeren, Bjarke Ingels, Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Fernando Romero. The American architect Joshua Prince-Ramus is another member of this illustrious club, who, like the others on the list, also decided to step out from Koolhaas’ formidable shadow and go it alone. Unlike them, though, he has kept a relatively low profile. The 30-strong practice he leads does not bear his name and he fiercely rejects the ‘starchitect’ label. “Architecture is not created by individuals”, he once told a room of journalists. “The genius sketch is a myth. Architecture is made by a team of committed people who work together, and in fact, success usually has more to do with dumb determination than with genius.” Whatever its roots, Prince-Ramus has had no shortage of successes. Entrusted to establish OMA’s first New York branch at the start of the millennium, he led projects such as Seattle’s acclaimed Central Library and the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas. In 2006, he purchased Koolhaas’ stake in the office and renamed the company REX Architecture. Over the last decade the burgeoning studio have completed a couple of elegant buildings, including the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas and the Vakko Fashion Center in Istanbul. Now they are preparing for construction to begin on their biggest project to date: a theatre for the World Trade Center campus in New York.
CLAD mag 2017 ISSUE 3