Images: OMA; Time; John Deere; AGTechnology; lely.com; Library of Congress

Rem Koolhaas thinks that too little attention is paid to the countryside, where change is happening at a faster rate than in most cities. In this illustrated essay, the OMA founder argues that architects need to take stock of a new agricultural revolution

This article was first published in Icon’s September 2014 issue: Countryside, under the headline “Koolhaas in the country”. Buy back issues or subscribe to the magazine for more like this

Over the past 10 years, I have been collecting documents and insights about a previously neglected subject – the countryside.

I have been frequently travelling to a Swiss mountain village in the Engadin valley, and throughout the years have been able to actively observe a number of changes.

Initially we did not think to look for a pattern, but in the end the pattern became almost inevitable.It epitomises many of the changes underway in the European countryside.

This is how big the village was when I first went there 20 years ago.Since then, the village has become completely depopulated. Its original inhabitants have left, and yet the village is 2–3 times bigger.

This was the first paradoxical issue: how can a village that depopulates, grow and multiply at the same time?...Continue Reading

> via iconeye.com