Rem Koolhaas founded the architectural firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in 1975 together with Madelon Vriesedorp, Elia Zenghelis, and Zorp Zenghelis. Before training as an architect, he worked as a journalist and advertising copywriter. In 1978 he published one of his most influential books, Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan. His S,M,L,XL (1995) is a survey of OMA’s work and draws connections between modern society and contemporary architecture. Other recent publications include Mutations (2001), Great Leap Forward (2002), The Harvard Guide to Shopping (2002, published by the Harvard University Graduate School of Design), and Content (2003).

This accordion-fold booklet contains a series of analytical views of the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf by AMO-OMA and colleagues from the American University of Sharjah, UAE. In a “futurized present,” these views seek to depict the current and unprecedented state of the region, which invites one to contemplate the design of a new version of urbanism. Like a pristine and untouched canvas, the sand and sea of the Persian Gulf coast constitute a tabula rasa, waiting to receive the imprint of new identities. The West is guilty of a double negligence vis-à-vis this land of possibilities – something that actually has its origins in the West is not being taken seriously, and as a result we are unable to seize upon a burgeoning global phenomenon. This accordion-fold booklet is published to coincide with the 10th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.