Thoughts on Koolhaas's Architectures of Congestion


As illustrated in the example of the athletic club in Manhattan, Koolhaass idea of designing in section, was revolutionary for its time.


 Through the use of section, Koolhaas desires to fabricate entirely new and innovative experiences for people, arguing that his architecture is the result of a congested organization of mixed programs. I appreciate the freedom Koolhaas employs in his organization of program, but it seems far-fetched to me that this idea is strongly tied to his building forms. Many of his projects exist as complex geometric and volumetric experiments, and I would argue that these are not a direct result of program organization, but rather a result of taking creative license to fabricate some sort of unfamiliar or strange experience for the user as they interact with the program. In my opinion, an equally powerful vertical congestion and interaction of programs can occur in a seemingly ordinary and mundane volume.



Comments

  1. Yes, the overlay activity in one big building only happened in the busy city and some of them is not good. If the design is not thinking very carefully the result is terrible. The reason is architect is pushed by the client that they want make the quick money.

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  2. Actually, Madison, in the picture model you have chosen the exterior form was extremely mundane. Those weird hanging objects represent the voids carved within the volume of the library. Again: pure section no form.

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