Rem Koolhaas nearer home

A major retrospective of architect Rem's work opens on 27 March 2004 at the Kunsthal, Rotterdam. After a 'wow' at the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Koolhaas' buildings revel in the overwhelming complexity of certain sites. The 'Berlin Block' came in for this kind of rationale recently in his Netherlands Embassy building there. He wove together some 24 clear levels within only 11 storeys, massaging open space vertically into a kind of stack. Koolhaas, who has never yet built in Britain, despite his Architectural Association education, pulls no punches in the quest for excellence. Doubtless a challenging UK commission will soon materialise.