Holger Schurk, Dozent für Architektur an der ZHAW in Zürich.

In 1989, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) developed a daring architectural typology-a "project without form". The setting is a laboratory headed by Rem Koolhaas, in which actors from different disciplines work on three competition challenges at the same time. In the process, the mechanisms of project development and knowledge acquisition merge into increasingly abstract systems and representations. The "project without form" does not win any of the competitions. The book not only follows the progress of the laboratory in 1989 but also reflects on its prehistory and aftermath, drawing on interviews with various actors at OMA conducted by Holger Schurk. The publication focuses on the hybrid processes of production and representation in the OMA project Très Grande Bibliothèque (TGB) in Paris: these are visualized by means of numerous hitherto unpublished sketches, drawings, and photographs as well as sequences of video stills.

Holger Schurk is a lecturer in architecture at the ZHAW in Zurich.
Im Jahr 1989 entwickelt das Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) einen gewagten architektonischen Typus - ein "Projekt ohne Form". Schauplatz ist ein Laboratorium unter der Leitung von Rem Koolhaas, in dem Akteure aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen an drei Wettbewerbsaufgaben gleichzeitig arbeiten. Dabei verschmelzen die Vorgänge der Projektentwicklung und der Erkenntnisgewinnung zu immer abstrakteren Mechanismen und Darstellungen. Das "Projekt ohne Form" wird in keinem der drei Fälle gebaut. Das Buch reflektiert neben dem Ablauf des Laboratoriums von 1989 auch dessen Vorgeschichte und Folgen, zu denen Holger Schurk verschiedene Akteure von OMA befragt hat. Im Zentrum der Publikation stehen die hybriden Produktions- und Darstellungsvorgänge von OMAs Projekt "Très Grande Bibliothèque" (TGB) in Paris, die durch zahlreiche bisher unveröffentlichte Skizzen, Zeichnungen und Fotografien sowie durch Sequenzen aus Videostills veranschaulicht werden.Holger Schurk, Dozent für Architektur an der ZHAW in Zürich.--In 1989, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) developed a daring architectural typology-a "project without form". The setting is a laboratory headed by Rem Koolhaas, in which actors from different disciplines work on three competition challenges at the same time. In the process, the mechanisms of project development and knowledge acquisition merge into increasingly abstract systems and representations. The "project without form" is not built in any of the three cases. The book not only follows the progress of the laboratory in 1989 but also reflects on its prehistory and aftermath, drawing on interviews with various actors at OMA conducted by Holger Schurk. The publication focuses on the hybrid processes of production and representation in the OMA project Très Grande Bibliothèque (TGB) in Paris: these are visualized by means of numerous hitherto unpublished sketches, drawings, and photographs as well as sequences of video stills.Holger Schurk is a lecturer in architecture at the ZHAW in Zurich.