Human density and Invasion of New Tech

 

Delirious New York was written by Rem Koolhaas illustrating the metropolitan condition as ‘a paradigm for exploration congestion’. A primary focus in the text describes the culture and lifestyle of metropolitan living in Manhattan through the idea of ‘culture of congestion’. These ideas wouldn’t be possible without the development of technology such as, the elevator, to achieve the required skyscraper for congestion of space and function.

The skyscraper is an interesting topic in his writing as it applies to the overlapping of these different activities in a high density space. Since this type of design doesn’t follow nature and the built environment these spaces are ‘organized in a framework artificially’. Rem Koolhaas also writes about Coney Island and Dreamland where artificiality and the tower of the Luna’s Skyline is the attraction of the park.

Koolhaas’s writings talk about the ‘unformulated movement of Manhattan, whose true program was so outrages that in order for it to be realized it could never be openly declared’. In his personal work Rem allows the overlap and interconnection of programs to create architecture while designing this overlap of program through section. I find the use of this design tactic really interesting by how he allows people to occupy the space.