I definitely wouldn't call a 40-foot wide lot minuscule. But I guess when it's located on the side of a mountain in Zell am See, Austria; you have a required 13-foot setback on both sides; and your architect is one of the world's leading practitioners, it starts to feel a bit smaller. This is the recently completed Austrian House, designed by Rem Koolhaas:

I'm always drawn to houses like these because they demand creativity. You can't just repeat what was done on that other 40-foot wide lot, because then you might conclude that the lot is unbuildable. And it's not. You just have to solve the puzzle. Then you've unlocked something that that many, or perhaps most, thought wasn't possible. And that's truly exciting to me.

For more on the Austrian House, check out Architectural Digest.

Photography by Pernille Loof and Thomas Loof

The new OMA-designed Taipei Performing Arts Center opened up last Sunday and so you'll now find lots of articles, photos, and drone videos circulating around online. The two partners-in-charge, Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, were also on this Monocle on Design episode talking about the genesis of the project and how they worked to optimize the various theater spaces.

My favorite part of the whole story is how they actually won the design competition. The site is located next to Taipei's renowned Shilin Night Market. And I can attest to this fame because I spent a summer living in Taipei while I was in university. This night market was the thing I was immediately told I needed to visit as soon as I stepped off the plane. And they weren't wrong. I spent many a nights with those stinky tofu dishes that smell like feet but actually taste pretty good.

But for whatever reason, the competition brief stipulated that the night market was to be torn down in order to make way for this new performing arts center. And since it was in the brief, almost everyone took it as a non-negotiable given. The only firm that didn't -- out of 140 bidders -- was OMA. They questioned why the city couldn't have both: a new performing arts center and their wildly successful night market.

So that's how OMA -- at least partially -- won the competition. And I'm certain that Taipei is better for it.

There is a new book out right now about the United Arab Emirates called 50U. It has been fifty years since the confederation of the seven Gulf states was officially declared (December 2, 1971), and so the book is a celebration of that. The format is 50 portraits of people, places, and plants (yes, plants) that tell the story of the UAE.

Included in the book is an excerpt of a 2009 talk by architect Rem Koolhaas (of OMA) about his reading of Dubai. ArchDaily published an abridged version over here and I thought it was an interesting read. Few people think about cities as deeply as Koolhaas does, and few can express their thoughts in such a rational and Dutch-like way. Here's a snippet of the talk:

I came here first in 2004. We were asked to do a major building on the site which is marked by the flag. Then, two years ago it was the exact moment… I became increasingly nervous about the mission of architecture and the uses of architecture. And I really became almost desperate… that the incredible pressure of the market economy was forcing architecture itself into increasingly extravagant conditions. Seemingly, Dubai seemed to be the epicenter of that extravagance. So, I came with deeply ambivalent feelings. It seemed as if the idea of the city and the metropolis itself had been almost turned into a caricature, not a coherent entity but maybe a patchwork of theme parks. And those themes would become the bogus and increasingly bizarre characters that were perhaps partly mythical and partly real.

I've only been to Dubai once. It was back in 2008 or 2009. And to be honest, it wasn't my favorite city; I think primarily because I enjoy walking cities and Dubai is largely the opposite of that. It felt like a patchwork of theme parks that you had to drive around to -- ideally in an exotic car while being as flashy as possible.

Now if these theme parks were within walking distance (and the drinks were good), that would be an entirely different story.