Junkspace: A Banana Story

Nearly every banana we eat shares the same DNA as any other banana we've ever eaten. They're clones. That doesn't diminish the experience we have with that banana, but we know the exact taste and texture to expect while eating a banana and the same goes for junkspace. Many people my age I'm sure have good memories of going to the mall as a kid and experiencing the sites and the sounds of the mall, but the unique component to this is that it's defined by age, not by place. I can't experience the Jewish Museum without being in Berlin, and it's not the same if I just go to another Jewish Museum though it might have similar constraints to the design. I would know the void spaces and key moments in the building if asked to recall them. It has a unique identity. Junkspace's identity is having no identity.

I don't believe that junkspace is inherently bad. I think it's a natural byproduct of existing in a consumerist society and in some cases can be incredibly useful. It's not architecturally beautiful but it is socially beautiful. There are two types of junkspace: the junkspace that exists to bring people to it for symbiosis, and the junkspace that exists because people are there. More congested areas like airports with bored travelers facilitate that junkspace because they need something to do. It's interesting that junkspace is bred, not through intentional design, but as waste material of human sponsorship. Now consider the banana's taste. Likely you didn't think about the last banana you ate, with its particular shape and ripeness, but rather the generic taste you have come to expect from bananas. This is why junkspace cannot be remembered. It's identity consists of its collective rather than its singularity much like the banana.