What if?
What if the postmodern movement in architecture never
happened? What if architects such as Venturi, Scott-Brown and Koolhaas never
became curious about places such as Las Vegas or Coney Island? I appreciate the
postmodern movement and its thought process. Learning from existing
American landscapes, almost completely artificial, was an important step moving
forward in architecture. Learning from these built environments, such as Las
Vegas or Coney Island opened the door to further explorations for designers. As
seen in Koolhaas’ Downtown Athletic Club and later the Parc de La Villette competition entry, experimentation and endless
possibilities of “what if” are apparent. Without the postmodern movement, it’s
hard to imagine that the designs of Bjarke Ingels, strong in concept and forms
of experimentation, would ever be built today. So what if the post-modern era
of architecture never took place, what would the architectural world look like
now?
I'm a tad too intimidated to answer your question.. but I think that posing the question highlights the significance of the postmodern movement and its vital role in architecture then and now
ReplyDeleteI really like your thought process through this. Today we really focus on the why behind the program and the motives of the architect with context in mind, but there is real value in looking at aspects of projects in isolated instances like you mentioned the postmodernists doing. I think it can teach us to be more experimental and innovative.
ReplyDeleteI had never really thought about Postmodernism from this perspective. For some reason, I always saw it as more of an isolated incident that we abandoned after deeming it unsuccessful. After reading this though, I agree that architects like Bjarke Ingels can be seen to have a direct connection to Postmodernism. We often make fun of the crazy forms and color of that ideology, but rebels have to be loud and obtrusive to start a revolution don't they? Fortunately, I think architects today have refined the ideas of Postmodernism to something less explosive and more nuanced.
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