M.4 COLOR + DESIGNERS

IITMcCORMICK TRIBUNE CAMPUS CENTER

REM KOOLHAAS, OMA M.4 COLOR + DESIGNERS

REM KOOLHASS

Remment Lucas Koolhaas was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on November 17, 1944.

He spent four years of his youth in Indonesia, where his father, a novelist, served as cultural director. Following in the footsteps of his father, the young Koolhaas began his career as a writer. He was a journalist for the Haase Post in The Hague and later tried his hand at writing movie scripts.

Koolhaas’s writings on architecture won him fame in the field before he had even completed a single building. After graduating in 1972 from the Architecture Association School in London, Koolhaas accepted a research fellowship in the United States. He is known for his innovative, cerebral designs. He has been called a modernist, a deconstructivist, and a structuralist, yet many critics claim he leans toward humanism; his work searches for a link between technology and humanity.

In 1975, Koolhaas founded the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in London with Madelon Vriesendorm and Elia and Zoe Zenghelis. Architect Zaha Hadid was one of their first interns. Focusing on contemporary design, the company won a competition for an addition to the Parliament in The Hague and a major commission to develop a master plan for a housing quarter in Amsterdam. Koolhaas teaches at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

IIT McCormick Tribune Campus Center

In an attempt to rejuvenate the school and join the two parts of the campus, an international competition was held in 1998 to build a campus center on the plot of land below the L. The winning entry by OMA opened in 2003 and is a hub for student life on campus. It is the first U.S. building designed by Koolhaas.

The large single-story Campus Center provides a focal point for the previously sundered halves of the campus, and features a noise absorbing steel tube wrapping the elevated metro that runs directly over the building and, inside, a dense mosaic of programs including a bookstore, food court, café, auditorium, computer centre, and meeting spaces.

The L, Chicago’s elevated train line, divides the campus both physically and psychologically by separating the residential area from the academic buildings.

The icon system is integrated into a wide range of surfaces throughout the project: digital murals, fritted glass walls, textured and lenticular wallpapers. Also, created were unique architectural details such as LED digital clocks, fluorescent tube chandeliers, woodgrain walls, a sixty-foot long light box, and a series of iconographic wallpaper portraits, including one of Mies van der Rohe, which is now part of the permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art. Portraits were created using icons as pixels.

COLOR

Orange: The result of the combination of yellow and red, orange projects an idea of intensity, creativity, euphoria, and enthusiasm. It is often used in creative environments, such as offices, studios, and schools.

Yellow: Portrays optimism, curiosity, joviality and a bright atmosphere. It is frequently used in commercial spaces or restaurants to gain the attention of pedestrians.

Red: This color shows energy, excitement, impulse. Therefore, it is regularly used in commercial spaces, such as stores or fast food outlets, as it portrays a certain compulsivity and consumer desire.

CONCLUSION

The goal to rejuvenate the campus was achieved. The number of students enrolled increased as the campus gained popularity. Many students have commented on how well the environment is and how the color helps them enjoy the building.

The color palette for the campus was well-thought. Not only it energizes them, but it also helps them keep their calm in the more serene spaces.

SOURCES

https://www.thoughtco.com/rem-koolhaas-modern-dutch-architect-177412#:~:text=Rem%20Koolhaas%20(born%20November%20 17,link%20between%20technology%20and%20humanity.

https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/mccormick-tribune-campus-center/

https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/buildings-of-chicago/ building/mccormick-tribune-campus-center/

https://www.architonic.com/en/project/oma-the-mccormick-tribune-campus-center/5100219

https://2x4.org/work/iit-mccormick-tribune-campus-center/

https://oma.eu/projects/iit-mccormick-tribune-campus-center