So he brought in Rem Koolhaas and his office for Metropolitan Architecture well before Mr. Koolhaas became an international superstar. Mr. Koolhaas completed a master plan in 1989 that called for a new kind of public place. Instead of a rigid utopian scheme or soulless sprawl, the serenity of open space would be combined with the vitality of urban density. There should be a place for beautiful buildings and ugly buildings, just as with people. For example, the faculty of economics and management, designed by Mecanoo and completed in 1995, is a three-story building with a plan resembling a casbah, which provides a city experience that includes winding streetlike spaces and eccentrically shaped courtyards.
Good architects make use of congestion.
Somehow, Mr. Sikkema has figured out a way to work spontaneously within a fairly rigid state bureaucracy. He eschews conventional design competitions, recommending architects who inspire him. He knows how to place himself strategically and get around the bureaucrats. He runs interference and takes the flak. He has consistently taken chances on younger, less established talents, who not surprisingly sing his praises.