Architecture and Isolation

 

In the reading by Koolhaas, he mentions that the Metropolis can create isolation and loneliness. With new advances in technology, construction, and the invention of the elevator, we are now able to escape the realities of the ground below and inhabit the unchartered zones that reside in the world above, many of which are zones of manmade fantasy. With our ability to control our environments, each story will possess its own unique experience characteristic to the users of the space.

This idea is best shown in the movie Blade Runner whenever we first meet the character of J. F. Sebastian. Unable to leave earth for the new colonies, Sebastian is forced to live in isolation. We find him atop an abandoned skyscraper towering above the Metropolis inside a world of his own creation. He is accompanied by his cohort of bizarre medical experiments and surrounded by relics of a time that no longer exists.

When thinking about architecture within this context, it’s interesting to think about how architecture can be utilized to enhance a person’s quality of life, but also, how architecture can create barriers that isolate and disconnect people from their sense of place.