Many who have followed Koolhaas' career were surprised to see an architect who declined last year to take part in the Ground Zero master plan competition—sniping about the "Stalinist scale" and "totalitarian" character of the rebuilding effort—agree to design a huge architectural symbol for Chinese television, one of the Communist government's main propaganda arms. But Koolhaas loves such contradictions and, indeed, has made them a central part of what the New York Times once called his "renegade persona." He stresses the value and appeal of collaboration but tends to alienate peers and clients alike with his cool superiority. And while he remains committed to the ideals of postmodernism that shook up the design world when he was an emerging talent in the 1970s—his work shows that legacy in its mix-and-match flair, wild palette, and tilting asymmetry—his buildings also have the sleek appeal of the best modern architecture.