History of REX
REX, previously known as OMA-NY, is a highly recognized architecture and design firm on a global scale. It was founded in 2001 by Founding Principal Joshua Ramus, and it has already received the honor of being named one of the World’s Top 10 Innovative Companies in Architecture by Fast Company twice. The firm believes that architecture should revolve around its users and communities, so their goal is to create innovative designs that are so well-suited to their intended use that they inspire admiration in their aesthetic experience.
The conflict between form and function, in REX’s opinion, is pointless and superficial. Architecture is no longer defined by the stale argument over whether it is a tool or an art. Instead, we focus on performance, which is a blend of form and function that is tailored to the goals of each client and the limitations of each project. Tools perform, and art performs.
Their work currently includes projects ranging from Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center in New York, all the way to a pair of mixed-use skyscrapers in Perth, Australia, which are under construction. REX and Joshua’s projects have received high recognition, including two AIA National Honor Awards, attesting to the firm’s superior design.
Joshua Ramus, Founding Principal of REX
Joshua is an American architect and founding principal of REX. He graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, majoring in philosophy, and from Harvard University with a Master of Architecture, where he was awarded the first Araldo Cossutta Fellowship and the SOM Fellowship. He is registered as an architect in the Netherlands, Australia, and several U.S. states. He is also NCARB Certified.
Joshua was one of the founding partners of OMA New York, serving as its principal until 2006, when he changed the company’s name to REX. He was the partner in charge of all the firm’s projects during that period. Besides remaining deeply involved in all the office work, Joshua has also been Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University, Cullinan Visiting Professor at Rice University, and a visiting professor at Columbia University, The Cooper Union, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University.
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Company Culture at REX
The studio is made up of thirty designers with varied social, cultural, and educational backgrounds. REX strongly by the fact that architecture should do things for its users, not just be a representation of art. To that end, the firm emphasizes performance as a blend of form and function tailored to the goals of each client and the limitations of each project.
Sometimes we discover uncharted territory; sometimes we rediscover forgotten territory that has renewed usefulness; sometimes we reaffirm conventions with assured conviction.
They embrace responsibility in order to properly implement their vision. Lately, architects have turned away from the responsibility of Master Builders and toward the security of stylists as they grow more unwilling to take on liability. REX re-engages responsibility in order to carry out their vision and maintain the insight that fosters architectural invention. Contractual arrangements and procurement tactics are examples of processes that they use as design tools.
Architect-US is proud to work in close contact with REX and to be able to ensure the firm gets to know and work with amazing young architects like David Manso Pulido, whom we helped process his Visa and get a position at REX through our Job+J1 Visa Program!
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David Manso Pulido
David Manso is a Spanish architect who joined REX through our Job+J1 Visa Program as a Trainee. He did not complete his Master’s degree but his J1 Visa process was possible due to his over 5 years of work experience in Architecture. What’s also amazing is that he will be relocating to the United States with his wife and daughter!
He studied Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, Spain. His work experience ranges for a period of over 12 years in the Architecture Industry in Madrid, New York, Sydney and Hamburg, and has a strong focus on international architectural competitions. David proved his loyalty and character with his over 5 years at AXIOM Ingeniería – an engineering company that specializes in projects for the Pharmaceutical Industry. The architecture firms he worked and where he gained work experience include Kirsch & Bremer, Hamburg and Archronica Architects, New York City.
REX‘s Selected Projects
Al Jazeera Headquarters Proposal – Doja, Qatar
The Al Jazeera & QMC Headquarters buildings in Doha have retractable sunshades on both sides that help protect the interiors from the relentless sun in Qatar. The geometry and overlap of the sunshade pay homage to a classic Arab Mashrabiya pattern, fulfilling the client’s wish to incorporate regional iconography into buildings.
Photos by REX
Necklace Residence
Necklace Residence, designed in 2017, includes the parents’ home, four children’s homes, event space, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gym, spa, library, study, home cinema, and performance space. The estate’s program is arranged like a necklace to provide a framework that allows each house to be experienced both separately and as a part of a wider domestic network. The five houses and the five shared pavilions are alternated amongst the necklace’s pieces.
The façade of the house is completely covered in mirror glass, making the structure blend into the surroundings as you get closer. The result lessens the impression of the building’s bulk and deceptively fulfills the patriarch’s wish for a structure that «looks as if it has always been part of the site» by making it appear as though it never exists. At night, the mirror glass on the outside seems to melt, transforming the bluff into a vibrant lantern.
Photos by REX
Equator Tower – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Rex has been chosen as one of the finalists for their 173,000 square meter proposal. Known as the «Equator Tower,» the idea encircles a narrow 80-story tower with a retractable glass fiber-reinforced sun shade coated in PTFE, preventing direct sunlight exposure from all four directions.
The office, retail, and recreational areas are spread out across the tower’s length on each floor, which is made up of 12-meter-wide plates. The «extra amenities» include sky lobbies, podium lobbies, and an observatory. Floor to ceiling glass without mullions covers the resulting «office machine,» requiring only a few small columns spaced around the perimeters.
Photos by REX
We will be posting more projects by REX in the upcoming weeks and months, so keep an eye out for more of their incredible work! Every Friday we will be posting a new Featured Company, so join us again next week!
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