Change that is Life

“Through the medium of the Skyscraper, each site in the Metropolis accommodates— in theory at least—an unstable and unforeseeable combination of superimposed and simultaneous activities whose configuration is fundamentally beyond the control of architect or planner” (Koolhass, 328).

In Koolhaas's Culture of contradiction he discusses the instability that exists within the skyscraper and the introduction of the elevator. The elevator, an invention not produced or intended by Architects, forces the rise of buildings within the urban fabric, particularly within New York. By introducing sky rises or urban vertical grids, the programs housed inside the buildings are disconnected with the monolithic, sculptural exterior facades. The internal programs constantly change in an ebb and flow of needs. How do we as architects fix the instability between the two and introduce a “culture of congestion”, as Koolhass puts it. How do business executives interact with marketing agents if the exterior sheath hides the changing interior? Can this be solved with mix-use developments? How can social interaction and cultural congestion be turned into a positive aspect of vertical living?