OMA

In the first version of Countryside, presented at the Guggenheim in New York in 2020, we picked a number of sites all over the world, where the countryside was going through drastic changes and acute upheavals. Together, they presented a global overview of crisis and potential that was unfolding outside our cities and therefore went largely unnoticed. In this second iteration, we present “the Arc,” a contiguous band of “Countryside” that runs from South Africa through East Africa, via Qatar, Central Asia, all the way to Eastern China. It is an arc of landlocked rural areas, still inhabited largely in traditional ways, both in Africa and Central Asia, and where only the Middle East is undergoing rapid modernization. Today, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia are home to 85 percent of the world’s population. By 2100, Africa will have become the most populous continent, surpassing Asia. Qatar and its neighboring region sit at the geographic and economic crossroads of this demographic transformation. We traced this arc because it encompasses both traditional and modern forms of living. Rather than a chain of crises, it represents an arc of potential, in which we can consider how much might change and what traditions should be maintained. Most of the arc is mountainous; the landscape itself resists a wholesale modernization, though its breathtaking beauty faces mounting pressure. The Arc is replete with new typologies, such as coding schools in barns aiming to train the next generation of ruralists in the digital languages of the future, while maintaining ancient traditions like shepherding. These typologies introduce new relevancies and offers new prototypes for inhabiting the earth in sustainable ways. As cities become more and more congested and expensive, maybe a pivotal moment has come: we can conceive a future that reverses the universal movement to the city that has robbed the countryside of its inhabitants. This exhibition examines “new” ways to inhabit the countryside, which together show that the city is not the only model for pursuing a rich and fulfilling life. Countryside: A Place to Live, Not to Leave, an exhibition by AMO / OMA presented by Qatar Museums in collaboration with Qatar Fund for Developmen, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Hassad Food, and Kahramaa, is on view in Doha until 30 June 2026. More information: https://lnkd.in/epxCN5X7

Join us at Workspace Design Talks in Amsterdam on Wednesday, November 5. OMA’s Managing Partner – Architect David Gianotten will be speaking on a panel about the contextual workspace design of Amsterdam’s Apollolaan 171. https://lnkd.in/eCPKRnek

Researching for the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, OMA’s teams in Australia and Rotterdam are revisiting the masterplan for the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP). Originally designed in 2012 in collaboration with Hassell, the project has created an integrated platform for social interaction in the heart of Sydney, connecting the CBD with the western and southern parts of the city. https://lnkd.in/eVnb-Nyq

OMA has won the competition for a new bridge across the Saône in Lyon as part of the TEOL (Tram Express de l’Ouest Lyonnais) project led by SYTRAL Mobilités. Connecting the Confluence district – a former industrial port transformed into a mixed-use urban quarter – with the city’s western bank, the bridge addresses a longstanding gap in Lyon’s public transport network. OMA’s winning entry combines two distinct modes of transit – a tramway and a passage for pedestrians and cyclists – into a single structure that is both efficient and experiential. The project was developed in collaboration with partners WSP en France, DDA - DEVAUX & DEVAUX ARCHITECTES, MRP | Marco Rossi Paysagiste and les eclaireurs - lighting designers. https://lnkd.in/eVF82PqJ

OMA has completed the JOMOO Headquarters in Xiamen, the first office campus for China’s largest sanitaryware company. Located on the edge of the city’s emerging central business district, the new headquarters is now in use and marks a key moment in JOMOO’s transformation into a global brand. The building stands at the intersection of two contrasting conditions: the dense high-rises of the city on one side, and forested hills on the other. The design embraces this duality through a continuous, sculptural form that merges base and tower, reinterpreting the conventional office typology. https://lnkd.in/e4vKWpqq

OMA has won the competition to revitalize the historic Selman Stërmasi Stadium and its surrounding area in central Tirana, Albania. The design expands the existing football park and makes it a catalyst for closer connections between different neighborhoods in the city. It reconfigures the stadium, built in 1956, as part of a mixed-use development with new buildings and generous open spaces, referring to Albania’s mountainous landscape in its layered composition. OMA Managing Partner – Architect David Gianotten: “Football is a cornerstone of urban culture and national identity across Europe and around the world, and we feel it especially intensely here in Tirana. Our design is meant to accelerate the exciting changes taking place in the city, while fostering closer bonds within and between neighborhoods and communities here.” The competition design was led by OMA’s David Gianotten and Kees van Casteren, in collaboration with LOLA Landscape Architects, Royal Haskoning DHV and Studio Petrit Halilaj.

Crafted World, LOEWE’s first public exhibition, opened in Tokyo last week. Designed by OMA, the exhibition features thematic spaces highlighting the Spanish brand’s history of craftsmanship, cultural exchanges, and artistic influences, with archival pieces, runway collections, and works by LOEWE Foundation Craft Prize finalists. The traveling exhibition first launched in Shanghai in 2024 and now arrives at Jing Space in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. Crafted World Tokyo is on view at 6-35-6 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo until 11 May, 2025. https://lnkd.in/eYVt-3GB

The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale, 'And All That Is In Between', has opened in Jeddah with scenography designed by OMA. Held under the Hajj Terminal canopy at King Abdulaziz International Airport, the exhibition will run until 25 May 2025. https://lnkd.in/egDpnswJ

Construction has begun on the Wisperweide school in Weesp, designed by Studio A Kwadraat in collaboration with OMA. It is the first Dutch school to implement Schools by Circlewood’s prefabricated wooden modular system, adopted under Amsterdam’s 2023 Innovation Partnership School program to build elementary schools. https://lnkd.in/ePTs3RTf

Apollolaan 171 was featured as the top entry in Bernard Hulsman's annual roundup of best architecture. The building, designed by OMA/David Gianotten, is highlighted for its duality in combining contemporary and historic elements in Amsterdam Zuid. Read more in the NRC article: https://lnkd.in/dvrKRDq4