Depending on one's point of view, the sights of a Brad Pitt or a Rem Koolhaas can be quite devastating on the Richter magnitude scale. My reactions heated at the same level of intensity but for different reasons!

For M.Pitt (sadly sans Mrs.Jolie and kids) I was scheming thousands of scenarii to get hired as a fluent French speaking nanny or even…getting adopted! In fact, it nearly gave me a heart attack when I discovered that a part of the set took place on my very own street and consequently thought it was a mystical Sign.

The other meeting was on a different note. A more formal one. I even needed to re-introduce myself to the heavy knowledge they fed myself with back in school days . So Phyllis Lambert, our Ladyship of Architecture, invited Peter Eisenmann to confront Rem Koolhaas. What was she thinking? Aren’t these guys already on the same deconstructivist team? I candidly thought Derrida had reunited them and realized how confused Modernism had left our World.

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On the Death of Icons?

Rem was crystal clear, it’s TODAY’S Emergency! Dubaï’s concentration of stereotypes is killing it and Beijing is not doing well either. Since OMA has billions of projects in both countries, everyone in the room raised eyebrows. Maybe it’s the media’s hyper-sensationalized frenzy which is keeingp our attention from the essential of a project? Picture some disneyan museum Guery or a birdie Calatrava subway station and you’ll get his point. Although the NYTimes article on Steven Hall was 4 pages of total crypted architectural mystery to me. But again it’s the NYTimes…

Lateness?

Eisenmann agreed totally on today’s serious Lack of Ideology. In fact he didn’t hate at all the appellation of B-Movie Architect (I did). He took us with him in a very spiritual (and boring) project in Santiago de Campostela. But he felt the need to contradict Rem on the Emergency only to remind us how the face of the world changed with 9-11. Ok…let’s go political then…Not even close…maybe they didn’t want to bring on the fact that every Ben Laden’s in the Middle East are changing the face of the world (construction empire and terrorism, y’all).

Market Pressure? Do architects have the power to refuse?

Rem is all “no-no-but…” about it. Einsemann is of course “Absolutely YES”. How come Rem lost his social awareness? He went to Fukukoa and afte, only dealt with GLOBALIZATION, MEGA MILLIONS METROPOLES, ASIAN’s FAST-TRACK DEVELOPMENT….it’s all about proportions, Peter. Ok then…but don’t tell me Cité Radieuse was a great idea. It was, Peter. Phyllis says “OH”. Everyone knows she saved my Milton’s neighbourhood (so Brad could keep making films around it) and she went really ballistic on Rem’s Le Corbusean theory.

About a Union of Architects?

Of course there were times (and soviet places) when architects used to play architecture altogether, gathering around a hardcore dictator and making unbelievable buildings. It left me speechless…I sincerely think Russian vanguards were the best. And the conditions helped a lot. Thanks again Rem!

Sustainability?

Their answers were so funny and so bizarrely sincere I recommend you to watch the last part of the video. You can keep the compliments for later since it’s my first production…ahum…

My conclusions?

I felt so relieved to see our future in architecture in very good Dutch hands indeed. Of course you have to think GLOBAL in the XXIst century and even if the Chinese way is too rough for a purist’s mind, I’m convinced with the fact that in this side of the world you still have plenty of rooms to start things over. For sure a society cannot develop by itself; the model western countries have built is not fitting well. We are in urgent need of a new ideology which can meet our thirst of a better living society.