In Koolhaas’s Delirious New York, we take a look into some of Hood’s insights about architectural form in Manhattan, and his ideas about how the city can be modified based on what already exists there. From what I understood, Hood had an issue with the fact that the the blocks and overall layout of Manhattan was formed by the construction of the skyscrapers, that the way the city flowed operated as a reaction to the construction rather than something that was considered beforehand. This in his eyes was responsible for the many issues of congestion and crowding. Hood theorized that skyscrapers were constructed with the purpose of keeping their integrity in tact, that some of these issues could be rectified. “The space around the Towers will be left unbuilt, so that each Tower can regain its integrity and a measure of isolation” (Koolhaas 164). Obviously being influenced by Le Corbusier, we can see the parallels between this apporach and Le Plan Voison. However, it is refreshing to see that Hood wanted to take into consideration the existing city rather than just trying to create an ideal view.
In Typical Plan, we can see how Hood’s architectural theory revolves less around being defined by the incorporation of humanist or aesthetic qualities, but rather the objectivity of the actual building. What this means to me is that Hood wanted to focus more on how his buildings operated. “…it represents the point where pragmatism, through sheer rationality and efficiency, assumes and almost mystical status…the utilitarian is refined as a sensuous science of coordination…that transcends the practical to emerge in a rarified existential domain of pure objectivity” (Koolhaas 338). This quote shows that although Hood’s ideas were not defined just by their practicality, but rather transcended that notion to have its own feel of objectivity. In terms of how the buildings were actually set up, Hood wanted to incorporate both social and business functions by having stores, living quarters, and offices all located on different floors. Combined with the towers having their own defined space, this reminds me a lot of how Maki viewed the relationship between buildings and people as organisms. It seems that Hood’s ideas creates its own ecosystems within the buildings while also remaining part of the larger grid of Manhattan.
Citations:
Koolhaas, excerpts from Delirious New York (1978)
Koolhaas, Typical Plan (1995)
Multiple points in a week – I appreciate the catch up! Like I mentioned earlier, good summary of readings, however I’d like to read more critical feedback. What points would you disagree with, or what points were not taken far enough? When reading your comparison with Maki, it would be great to read specific quotes so that we can be clear on how your seeing them together.