An analysis of Rem Koolhaas’s discourses on architecture and urban design using a corpus-based model

Abstract

This paper explores the networks of thoughts behind words by reading architectural texts in the context of linguistics. Using a corpus-based model, our main interest is what the collocational data contribute at an architectural level. The notion of “collocation identification in architecture” was drawn from an analysis of the use of the data for Rem Koolhaas. The data for this study were collected from Rem Koolhaas’s articles from 1977 to 2014. An analysis of Koolhaas’s ideas about architecture and urban planning was conducted using the AntConc 3.4.4.0 corpus analysis toolkit. The corpus-based model reduced selected articles to words and lexical bundles using the corpus analysis toolkit. This paper explores Koolhaas’s thoughts on understanding architecture and the metaphors he uses by analyzing articles using the corpus-based analysis model. The discourse codes in the texts of Koolhaas are examined. A corpus-based model proposal tested on architectural texts has the potential to create new areas of knowledge for architectural discourse. Deciphering the texts and analyzing the codes contribute to the development of new models.

Key words： Architecture; Urban design; Discourse; Rem Koolhaas; Corpus-based model