Culture of Congestion
Rem Koolhaas had a different way of approaching architecture and its programming. His manifesto was to mix use and program with one another to see what complexities came about. An example of this would be the Downtown Athletic Club in New York where there was a swimming pool, boxing gym, locker room, and oyster bar all under one roof but on separate levels. This type of mixing refers to his thoughts on congestion and how it’s a combination of things that make the place unique and interesting. His theory of congestion and combining program is a contrasting idea when compared to Le Corbusier’s prescriptive five points towards modern architecture. Prescribing the characteristics that a building must have to qualify it as modern architecture is putting architecture itself into a box.
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I like this comparison a lot and when looking at the two architects, I would favor Koolhaas. Le Corbusier definitely puts architecture in a box, and, to me, that makes for boring, repetitive designs. I like that Koolhaas pushes the limits with his work and does things because people don't expect it. He challenges the norms and does designs no one would think of doing, and he is willing to take on the extra work and rethink how things can be done. I think it makes for much more interesting designs and helps show future architects that anything can be achieved in architecture, and that we don't need to put architecture in a box.
ReplyDeleteDowntown Athletic Club in New York is a great example of this theory. I agree with Koolhaus and believe congestion and mixing programs lead to more successful, interesting buildings.
ReplyDeleteI think mix-used architecture gives it more life than having something plain and formed into a "box." If anything, having mix-used spaces encourages more life within the building therefore making it successful.
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