The Best of 1998 Design

1 BORDEAUX RESIDENCE, FRANCE Has Rem Koolhaas reinvented the home? One architectural journal went so far as to call this "the best house in the world, ever." Yikes! Built for a wealthy client in a wheelchair who asked that it be made as complex as possible, the house has three stories, in each of which is a 10-ft. by 10-ft. hole. The hole is filled only when the client's 10-ft. by 10-ft. elevator, which is also his office, is in that space. Get it? Rather than making allowances for its disabled owner, each floor is really complete only when he's there....