The idea that all architecture is junkspace is an
interesting one. Unfair if you ask me. Architecture today is an amalgam of what
has come before, sure. That much isn’t only fair, it is true. Technological
advances allow us to build faster, cheaper, and significantly easier than
before. Architecture is no more permanent than appliances and thought about by
many in the same vein. That is not the fault of architects. In a consumer
economy often products are designed to the lowest common denominator. Where
supply meets demand is usually fairly low on the quality scale. This means that
the average cellphone, laptop, car, shopping mall, etcetera is built cheaply,
quickly, and falls apart in several years. This my friends is space junk, or
junk space. Crap put together by people who don’t care for people who don’t know
(any better). But there are those of us who know better. Some care and strive to build and consume products made on a higher level. Take these antique cars for example; The nissan (technically datsun at the time) is somehow still on the road, but really nothing more than space junk... while on the other hand the hand crafted (at the time) Porsche 356B looks possibly better than the day it was produced... not space junk at all, in fact it costs nearly half a million dollars today. To call everything architecturally made Junkspace isn’t only
unfair, it’s a backhand to the entire architectural community. It is also looking
back with some serious rose colored glasses. If Koolhaas thinks, for example,
the romans did it better. That architecture of yesteryear had it right… he has
another thing coming. Once again, it all comes down to economics. Then, like
now, there were craftsmen who took pride in their work and produced products
and architectural spaces that were truly top shelf, and still survive today,
and crap ones that fell apart in no time. Just because we have screws today doesn’t
mean that they didn’t have the equivalent. Take off the rose colored glasses
Koolhaas, and be a little nicer to the guys who are still doing it right.
The idea that all architecture is junkspace is an
interesting one. Unfair if you ask me. Architecture today is an amalgam of what
has come before, sure. That much isn’t only fair, it is true. Technological
advances allow us to build faster, cheaper, and significantly easier than
before. Architecture is no more permanent than appliances and thought about by
many in the same vein. That is not the fault of architects. In a consumer
economy often products are designed to the lowest common denominator. Where
supply meets demand is usually fairly low on the quality scale. This means that
the average cellphone, laptop, car, shopping mall, etcetera is built cheaply,
quickly, and falls apart in several years. This my friends is space junk, or
junk space. Crap put together by people who don’t care for people who don’t know
(any better). But there are those of us who know better. Some care and strive to build and consume products made on a higher level. Take these antique cars for example; The nissan (technically datsun at the time) is somehow still on the road, but really nothing more than space junk... while on the other hand the hand crafted (at the time) Porsche 356B looks possibly better than the day it was produced... not space junk at all, in fact it costs nearly half a million dollars today. To call everything architecturally made Junkspace isn’t only
unfair, it’s a backhand to the entire architectural community. It is also looking
back with some serious rose colored glasses. If Koolhaas thinks, for example,
the romans did it better. That architecture of yesteryear had it right… he has
another thing coming. Once again, it all comes down to economics. Then, like
now, there were craftsmen who took pride in their work and produced products
and architectural spaces that were truly top shelf, and still survive today,
and crap ones that fell apart in no time. Just because we have screws today doesn’t
mean that they didn’t have the equivalent. Take off the rose colored glasses
Koolhaas, and be a little nicer to the guys who are still doing it right. 
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