Countryside, A Report

by Richard Armstrong, Troy Conrad Therrien, Niklas Maak

The rural, remote, and wild territories we call “countryside”, or the 98% of the earth’s surface not occupied by cities, make up the front line where today’s most powerful forces―climate and ecological devastation, migration, tech, demographic lurches―are playing out. Increasingly under a ‘Cartesian’ regime―gridded, mechanized, and optimized for maximal production―these sites are changing beyond recognition. In his latest publication, Rem Koolhaas explores the rapid and often hidden transformations underway across the Earth’s vast non-urban areas.Countryside, A Report gathers travelogue essays exploring territories marked by global forces and experimentation at the edge of our consciousness: a test site near Fukushima, where the robots that will maintain Japan’s infrastructure and agriculture are tested; a greenhouse city in the Netherlands that may be the origin for the cosmology of today’s countryside; the rapidly thawing permafrost of Central Siberia, a region wrestling with the possibility of relocation; refugees populating dying villages in the German countryside and intersecting with climate change activists; habituated mountain gorillas confronting humans on ‘their’ territory in Uganda; the American Midwest, where industrial-scale farming operations are coming to grips with regenerative agriculture; and Chinese villages transformed into all-in-one factory, e-commerce stores, and fulfillment centers.

This book is the official companion to the Guggenheim Museum exhibition Countryside, The Future. The exhibition and book mark a new area of investigation for architect and urbanist Rem Koolhaas, who launched his career with two city-centric entities: The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (1975) and Delirious New York (1978). It’s designed by Irma Boom, who drew inspiration for the book’s pocket-sized concept, as well as its innovative typography and layout, from her research in the Vatican library.

The book brings together collaborative research by AMO, Koolhaas, and students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design; the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing; Wageningen University in the Netherlands; and the University of Nairobi. Contributors also include Samir Bantal, Janna Bystrykh, Troy Conrad Therrien, Lenora Ditzler, Clemens Driessen, Alexandra Kharitonova, Keigo Kobayashi, Niklas Maak, Etta Madete, Federico Martelli, Ingo Niermann, Dr. Linda Nkatha Gichuyia, Kayoko Ota, Stephan Petermann, and Anne M. Schneider.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction

351 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Reviews

[Beli ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Súper recomendable. No he encontrado lo que específicamente estaba buscando pero la intención y las reflexiones del libro son algo que me llevo para mis proyectos futuro.

[Chris Muratti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an all around genius exploration of this forgotten majority of our planet.

Filled with so many deeply interesting and provocative passages, but "?" really stood out to me as the sort of capstone of this book; totally epic and a perfect rumination on the themes and ideas of this collection of work. One of my favorite things I've seen from him as of yet.

Also just need to give a moment for the design of this book. Absolute perfection.

This really just, to me, pushes the boundaries of what we are thinking of as architecture and really highlights what is important and relevant in spatial design at this point in time.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The transformation of the planet, reported on the ground from France to China, from Africa to North Dakota. Climate, migration, all of it - from the macro to the micro. So much packed into a pocket-size, the photography deserves a larger format. Sorry to miss the Guggenheim Exhibit.

[Erik Wirfs-Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting, an account of various experiences of rural areas and various agricultural projects. Being a supplement to a museum exhibition some of the articles are too brief, and this tiny book isn't the best way to view the photography, I only wish the book was twice as long.

[Milian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Exhibition.
Great reports.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting

[Hugopimenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessante ensaio sobre o impacto da visão arquitectónica e politica no mundo rural em diversas geografias e eras! Muito recomendável!

[Livio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful

[Artur Llinares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como estudiante de antropología, este tipo de libros van muy bien porque sintetizan un gran número de proyectos importantes que se están realizando de modos muy distintos en lugares y momentos muy diversos.
Un libro de bolsillo con la excelente edición de TASCHEN.