|
|
 |
|
|
MENU
|
Chapter 2
-Koolhaas and technology- Developments
in technology today have reduced the need for a justifiable form, as technology
provides the solutions for construction, capable of incorporating structure and
skin into one membrane[1]. These advancements have changed the world greatly
since the industrial revolution, with computer modelling techniques allowing
architects to email special details direct to manufacturers for production. I
believe the social and cultural implications of modern day technological
advancement are just as great as those of the 1920’s. The introduction of
computer technology into nearly every aspect of the construction industry[2] has
lead to the demise of the drawing board and given designers a uniform tool, in
that of the computer. Today the Internet has grown so large that it has become
larger than individual awareness, composed of, and searchable through search
engine web pages. This new relationship with design and the design process,
represents a much more interactive way to formulate design, allowing, for the
first time, a tangible architectural testing zone, where, we as architects can
conduct architectural experiments indefinitely, until we formulate an
appropriate, well tested solution. As architecture tries to synthesize
contemporary culture to understand it[3], we can now decode our new social,
economic, and technological advancements, as we are obliged to, in the relative
safety of ‘virtual space’. Today with the birth of the Internet and accelerated global communications, we are able to communicate over much greater areas with relative ease[4]. This system of communication has taken an intrinsic place in many professional offices and the home, becoming a necessity to many[5]. These advanced communications have, for the first time, created what has become a virtual community[6], where all the elements of modern day life are present. In the last few years we have begun to see the ‘web’ becoming a true public domain, with government initiatives[7] backed with substantial funding to provide computers for schools and the home, giving a pledge to see all households ‘online’ by 2010.
Rem
Koolhaas. The
Internet has provided a virtual landscape where all are free to exhibit any
element of human nature both desirable and undesirable. The size of these
networks and the amount of users now ‘plugged-in’ has created a situation of
total flux, on a parallel with the speed of modern day life, fast moving and
rapidly changing. How
then, as architects, are we to adopt this new era of interactivity? The
current position of society is described by Koolhaas as frantic, fast moving
and, as a, generally, more accelerated way of life[8]. Koolhaas embraces this
freneticism and seeks to glorify it in his architecture. By doing this,
however, I feel Koolhaas is guilty of almost creating a technological metaphor
for the time rather than prescribing a solution. Where he offers a
symbolic gesture of the time rather than an appreciation of the potential within
this new technology. His definition of architecture, alluded to through his buildings and design process, is apparently much more autonomous than other contemporary architects[9]. He sees the main element as the program and develops a project purely for the requirements. He accepts current conditions and embraces this new era of change with an unfamiliar optimism. Koolhaas’s appreciation of our way of life is evident through his dedication to the programmatic arrangement of his projects[10]. His recent Seattle public library, scheduled to open in 2003, in Washington is the latest addition to a list of global projects[11].
Seattle
public library proposal - Rem Koolhaas. The
Seattle public library project seems one which offers great opportunities to
confront issues of digital technologies for Koolhaas, he is quoted as saying
"I've rarely wanted so much to do a project as this one," in an
interview with O. Casey Corr of the Seattle Times. The reason for this is
clear due to the influence of digital technology in and around Seattle, home to
Microsoft and other multinational companies for digital media and new computer
technology[12]. In the library design, Koolhaas creates separate floating areas
in one space, so the many functions can go on simultaneously as vigorous and
lively as ever, without encroaching on the space function of each other. Within
these functions the library must house both books and electronic information:
CDs, software, Internet, and soon even electronic books. The library has to
collect these, even while maintaining and hopefully expanding the book
collection. Koolhaas's goal in the library is to: "Redefine
the library as an institution no longer exclusively dedicated to the book," Olson,
S. How Seattle learned to stop worrying Architectural
Record http://www.architecturalrecord.com/PROJECTS/SEPT00/PEOPLE/koolhaas.asp He accuses the library of being the last civic stronghold of a past era[13], allowing itself to enter into competition with digital information, creating a void which will only increase and serve to the negative effect of both. His approach shows a dedication to program, clients requests and special arrangement which Koolhaas believes more appropriate for today, expressing the critical state of today’s accelerated culture through the juxtaposition of massing elements to create a seemingly unorganised, chaotic arrangement of geometries. Koolhaas’s interpretation of today allows him to justify his ‘humanitarian’ methods within his design process[14], resulting in a satisfied client. I feel Koolhaas has reassessed the current needs of people in the 21st Century, because of his hyper-awareness of the current state of society and culture, which has allowed him to develop an architecture that is more applicable to the people of today. His method does not simply rely on the implementation of classical architectural ‘tricks’, which essentially serve the social and cultural needs of the people at the time of their inception rather than those in place today. This awareness, coupled with a fascination with, and determination to include, the current technologies available for information transfer, makes Koolhaas an example of the humanitarian interpretation of the technological state of today.
Trading at NY stock exchange.
-References-
1. Zellner, P. (2000) Hybrid Space pp. 81 2. Baker, H., CAD: The wave flows on. http://www.archmedia.com.au/aa/1998/vol87no3/cad.htm 3. Berkel V.(1999) Techniques pp 159 4 December, J. Units of Analysis for Internet Communication. http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol1/issue4/december.html#Units 5 UK Government internet usage survey. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/internet1200.pdf 6 Franken, B. From architecture to hypertecture http://www.inm.de/people/bernhard/lect_v2.html 7 Government document UK Online http://www.letsallgeton.gov.uk/ 8 Heron K., From Bauhaus to Koolhaas http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.07/koolhaas.html 9 Jacques, M.(ed)(1998).OMA Rem Koolhaas, Living Vivre Leben pp. 13 10 Lootsma, B. (200) SuperDutch pp. 177 11 Craven, J. Seattle Public Library http://architecture.about.com/library/blkoolhaas-seattlelibrary.htm 12 Enlow, C. Design Perspectives http://www.djc.com/news/ae/11111747.html 13 Olson, S. How Seattle learned to stop worrying. http://www.architecturalrecord.com/PROJECTS/SEPT00/PEOPLE/koolhaas.asp 14 Jacques, M.,.(ed) (1998) OMA Rem Koolhaas Living Vivre Leben pp.12-21 . . .
[0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
OTHER FORMATS
View whole document in [html format] (246Kb.)
View whole document in [pdf format] (779 Kb.)
Whole document available as [downloadable pdf] (812Kb.)
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||
