the meaning and value of architecture
The discipline of architecture has great value in organizing society, but how can we begin to organize hyper-dense urban landscapes? Rem Koolhaas addresses the very existence of this “Culture of Congestion” within the Metropolis. For him, the simple answer is to forego Utopian ideology (a place of Enlightenment/everything has a meaning) and replace it with meaningless objects – the skyscraper – where the architecture of the building becomes completely separate from program and context. Can these meaningless objects add value to city life?
One of the greatest values a city like New York has to offer is its diversity – of people and culture – all rubbing elbows in the chaos and congestion that is neatly stacked within these benign towers. Koolhaas presents the Downtown Athletic Club, a skyscraper where boxers can spar and enjoy the delights of an oyster bar on one floor, serving as an example of how every floor can take on a life of its own. Then there is the Barrel of Love at Coney Island, a mechanism that topples people onto each other in the hopes of making an intimate connection, that in any other place and time, would never have happened. It’s within these spaces where the overlapping of people and activities, weather hidden within the meaningless cages of skyscrapers, or the imaginative experiences of an urban amusement park, that add great value to our lives. Where else in the world can you find such large “mixing bowls” if not in a city of congestion? It is these spaces where people can begin to voluntarily create relationships, exchange knowledge, ideas, and culture, that otherwise would never have happened.
If you look at Manhattan today, big architecture continues to sprout higher and with more intense facades, ensuring any relations with surrounding context are completely severed. One can argue the unique aesthetics in these projects - form, material, technology - have meaning, but at what value? Do they truly add to the city? I argue these developments actually reduce it, socially and culturally, These high rises opt to serve the wealthy at the cost of cutting away the fabric that weaves diverse communities and people together, the very benefits of the culture of congestion Koolhaas was speaking of. I would rather have a barrel of love plopped down in the middle of a city block than another luxury tower any day. As architects, do we not have an obligation to curate the engagement of people and to consciously make decisions that will encourage human interaction and connectivity?
One of the greatest values a city like New York has to offer is its diversity – of people and culture – all rubbing elbows in the chaos and congestion that is neatly stacked within these benign towers. Koolhaas presents the Downtown Athletic Club, a skyscraper where boxers can spar and enjoy the delights of an oyster bar on one floor, serving as an example of how every floor can take on a life of its own. Then there is the Barrel of Love at Coney Island, a mechanism that topples people onto each other in the hopes of making an intimate connection, that in any other place and time, would never have happened. It’s within these spaces where the overlapping of people and activities, weather hidden within the meaningless cages of skyscrapers, or the imaginative experiences of an urban amusement park, that add great value to our lives. Where else in the world can you find such large “mixing bowls” if not in a city of congestion? It is these spaces where people can begin to voluntarily create relationships, exchange knowledge, ideas, and culture, that otherwise would never have happened.
If you look at Manhattan today, big architecture continues to sprout higher and with more intense facades, ensuring any relations with surrounding context are completely severed. One can argue the unique aesthetics in these projects - form, material, technology - have meaning, but at what value? Do they truly add to the city? I argue these developments actually reduce it, socially and culturally, These high rises opt to serve the wealthy at the cost of cutting away the fabric that weaves diverse communities and people together, the very benefits of the culture of congestion Koolhaas was speaking of. I would rather have a barrel of love plopped down in the middle of a city block than another luxury tower any day. As architects, do we not have an obligation to curate the engagement of people and to consciously make decisions that will encourage human interaction and connectivity?
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