Living in Junkspace
Reading Rem Koolhaas's article Junkspace and the Ellen Dunham-Jones's critique of Koolhaas's work reminded me of an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible called "The Accidental Room" (Link at the end of the post). In it, they describe the Providence Place Mall in Providence, Rhode Island which was developed with such a focus on commercial use of space, there was somehow a 700 sq.ft. stretch of space between the walls of retail spaces within the mall. This forgotten space was noticed during construction by Michael Townsend a local artist, and when yet another mall development demolished his home, he and some friends decided to live in the forgotten space of the Providence Place Mall. Incredibly, the fact that it was a giant Mall meant that they could walk through with just about anything (TV, couch, tables) to furnish the room and everyone assumed they had just bought it. They ended up living there for several years before being caught and taken to court for trespassing and breaking and entering, they were found innocent, but could never return to the mall.
The apartment was absolutely massive for being within the "walls" of a mall. This makes me think of the economics of architecture and how the "architect" and developer decided that it was more economically viable to have completely unused space than to reconfigure the retail storefronts. Koolhaas says that junkspace is "held together not by structure but by skin, like a bubble. This is an example of the form the "bubbles of rentable space" was so important that it negated any urge to use every costly foot of space. Also, I find it incredible that they were found innocent when taken to court, but it drives home the reality that although it seems like "shopping is our last public space" it is not public, but private. Here's the link:
This is amazing and I will definitely be listening to that episode. It sounds like this is a case where junkspace that was completely unused was made into quality used space somehow by simply staking a claim to it. I wonder if after the court case they actually reconsidered this space...
ReplyDeleteThats crazy this happened. All that unused space was just there to waste away and I'm sure there are other examples of large amounts of unused space in other buildings. I do think its great someone was able to make the purposeful unused/wasted space into something of use.
ReplyDeleteIt's also crazy how this space was simply overlooked and not found until construction. It shows how obsessed we are on the amount of spaces we can create to absorb revenue that some of them become lost. However, it is an awesome story and an awesome little space to occupy.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to listen to this. I applaud this man for this activation of a previously dead space. I also love the application of the concept of dwelling. Spaces that are adapted and generate memories / lasting moments at a subjective and personal level.
ReplyDeleteWhile its nuts to me that these guys were able to do that, it is also pretty crazy that such a large space was left unoccupied by the mall. You would have thought they would try to maximize the used floor space and not abandon 700 SF. This can't be the only example of this. Makes you wonder how much unused space there is in our environments that we choose to overlook.
ReplyDelete