“At the exact moment that our culture has abandoned repetition
and regularity as repressive, building materials have become more and more
modular, unitary and standardized; substance now becomes predigitized… Where
detailing once suggested the coming together, possibly forever, of disparate
materials, it is now a transient coupling waiting to be undone, unscrewed, a
temporary embrace with a high probability of separation;”
- Rem Koolhaas (Junkspace)
This notion that Koolhaas brings up in Junkspace has stuck with me for two reasons, one being I agree with
him and two being, I don’t. A very
roundabout way of saying that I am sort of stuck in the middle on his argument
of buildings becoming predigitized before they are even built. I agree that sometimes, there are some people
who take things to a far to “custom” extent where everything needs to be custom
fabricated at lengths such as 8’ 1”, which would drive American carpenters
absolutely nuts; but there are also people who can take it too far and design
everything in the typical modular 4’x8” and 8’, 10’ & 12’ lengths. One gets annoying and the other can get too
prescriptive. This all reminds me of a
section in Michael Pollan’s book A Place
of My Own where the architect designs the walls of the writing shed to be 8’
1” and has to defend himself to the client’ who is recently started to learn
carpentry, and the contractor that he has hired to help him. He somewhat adequately defends himself saying
that if the walls were a standard 2x4 length of 8’ it would throw off the proportions
of the whole elevation and adding that you don’t hire an architect if you want
just a boring container to inhabit.
I agree with both of these extremes of designing, the super
custom and the super modular, but in my opinion, why can’t we have both? I mean look at the buildings designed by
Raleigh architect Frank Harmon, who consistently uses standard materials to
make beautiful buildings.
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