Pop City
Koolhaas’ “Life in the Metropolis or the Culture of Congestion” and Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” both explore the concept of “congested” architecture. They involve a blending of programs, manipulating spatial arrangements, and incorporating artificial lights to create an immersive architecture experience. By employing elements such as artificial lighting and sensory objects to draw attention to specific functions or programs, the intention is often geared towards economic gain. Similar to Koolhaas’ portrayal of coney island, Scott’s depiction of Los Angeles 40 years into the future shares numerous similarities in terms of buildings and specific architecture elements placed within a distinctly unfamiliar environment, placed very spontaneously and approached heuristically.
Additionally, in “Learning from Pop,” Denise Scott-Brown draws a conclusion that seeking inspiration from pop culture allows us to discover contemporary formal vocabularies that are not only more pertinent to the diverse needs of people but also more accommodating of the intricacies of urban life compared to the ‘rationalist’ approach.
Your point about artificial lighting to draw attention, with the intention of economic gain reminds me of Disney World. They use a lot of blue and green paint on buildings in order to have them blend into the background. This is meant to keep the park feeling magical, but it also ultimately is financial gain as it makes people feel like they need to keep returning to the magical location. These tricks are still being used.
ReplyDelete