Complexity responds to human's desire

I would like to talk about Venturi and Koolhaas based on the last image showing on the class slide. The name of the building is De Rotterdam which is really interesting from the perspective of Venturi and Koolhaas. The interesting points will be mentioned in the following respects.

Firstly, the façade/volume is interesting. To be more precise, this building has an overall shape, that is, rectangular shape. However, it is different from what Mies van der Rohe’s design, that is, it is not the simple, pure rectangle. There are several narrow seams, which creates ambiguity. The seams divide the whole piece into several individual towers which depart from each other. At the same time, the top part of towers shift a little bit in various directions, which creates a horizontal line dividing the tower into two parts in horizontal direction. Hence it is easy to come to the conclusion that its volume/façade has lots of changes, it is complex. However all of these changes are under the control of the overall shape, which is really interesting.

Secondly, this building has the same structure/division as the traditional column or traditional building, that is to say, it is divided into three parts -- foundation, body and head.

Thirdly, the programs in this building include residency, office, hotel, parking, leisure space, like fitness facilities, cafeteria, restaurants and so on. The vertical interior space of skyscraper is divided by horizontal floors, then lots of urban programs mentioned above are inserted into each layer. It shows the culture of congestion, its interior programs respond to human’s desire.

From my perspective, architecture is a complex stuff required to respond lots of questions. We should face the complex conditions instead of escaping. The outcome of the architecture should respond to questions as many as possible.