Inspiring Change
One of the more intriguing factors between the reading and lecture is the notion that the architects of the post modern movement were not interested in changing behavior or challenging social order. Rem Koolhaas analyzes the metropolis and the range of activities that can occur within it. He is so focused on the everyday and spontaneous actions and behaviors of individuals that result from their interaction with a complex environment. With all of the time spent studying these patterns and imagining the infinite possibilities of activities, why not use that knowledge to affect social change? Afterall, the analysis into Coney Island is a prime example of new inventions and ideas that challenged the way people were used to living.
Coney Island in artificial daylight
Koolhaas' interpretation of layered life
I've always considered early post-modernism to be slightly nihilistic in its approach to architecture; as if in response to modernism's failing ambition for change, post-modernism prefers to not try at all.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. It seems like a huge swing in the opposite direction of modernism, and it feels a bit like maybe there was a missed opportunity somewhere in the middle.
ReplyDeleteGood question, Lauren. I agree that the additional layer of social context or order is missing in postmodern architecture. I think with all the ideas they were experimenting with, it could have been directed toward social cues, instead of turning away.
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