Creating the Program
Cover of Rem Koolhaas’s Delirious New York (1978).
Rem Koolhaas's understanding of architecture could be expressed through program that has been unique to the world of architecture. It is interesting how New York became an inspiration for his work by questioning who he was as an architect. In his book Delirious New York, he uses Manhattan as a way to understand what exists and how to product from capitalism by allowing the program to become flexible. The work from Koolhaas and OMA, “Culture of Congestion,” became an important study that demonstrates the link between commercial architecture and program through rapid growth. The rapid growth of New York allowed him to design around density that shared different ideas, different cultures, and physical reality. It is about understanding the world around them to create better buildings that are functional and interesting. I agree with Rem Koolhaas's theory of thinking creativity when designing for the space. Architecture should allow the space to create itself and not be restricted by modern influencers. Architectures should be able to design around people by allowing a more diverse audience to create unique spaces.
I agree with you that architecture is about utilizing what’s going on in the world around you and using that to create provocative architecture through a determined program. Unlike Le Corbusier’s vision of giving a city a new concept of place and ignoring the existing fabric, Koolhaas used the reality that was there to learn from it. This gives people the sense of place and feeling of inclusivity that good architecture should strive to do.
ReplyDeleteThese are great observations between modern architecture and contemporary architecture. It's interesting how Koolhaas has been able to analyze historic architecture as well as changes in New York's urban fabric and use it to his advantage. I am curious to hear what you think about the critiques made by Ellen Dunham-Jones about Koolhaas' use of capitalism to make successful architecture.
ReplyDeleteI find 'Delirious New York' and it's role as a historical documentation of the rise of Manhattan extremely interesting. I read this book in its entirety about a year ago and greatly enjoyed it due to it's rich contents and Rem's fun, playful style of writing. Rem's relationship with program in architecture is one of his most defining traits as an architect. Throughout this book, he makes references towards certain historical buildings that are essentially melting pots of program (the DAC) and it begins to reflect some of Rem's design intentions in the real world.
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