Assignment 1- Ideas and prelim research

As I have been researching my interest in cross-programming / programmatic overlap I am trying to define what is it about these spaces that interests me. In researching I have come across the intentions of Rem Koolhaas which I find are a good start for my exploration

From Wikipedia:

“Another key aspect of architecture Koolhaas interrogates is the “Program”: with the rise of modernism in the 20^th century the “Program” became the key theme of architectural design. The notion of the Program involves “an act to edit function and human activities” as the pretext of architectural design: epitomized in the maxim “Form Follows Function”, first popularized by architect Louis Sullivan at the beginning of the 20^th century. The notion was first questioned in “Delirious New York”, in his analysis of high-rise architecture of Manhattan. An early design method derived from such thinking was “cross-programming”, introducing unexpected functions in room programmes, such as running tracks in skyscrapers. More recently, Koolhaas (unsuccessfully) proposed the inclusion of hospital units for the homeless into the Seattle public Library project (2003)”

My interests relate to this idea of “cross-programming” by introducing unexpected functions into space.

I am thinking for the first assignment I could visit Koolhaas’ Prada store downtown - the intention of the space, besides “selling a brand rather than marketing the clothes” and “reinventing the retail experience”, is evident in the stores main design component of the half-pipe like wooden curve that connects the two floors. The intention of this design element was to try on shoes, provide a public seating area, and a stage for public performances. Thus the retail environment is reinvented – with “cross-programming” of the retail environment , a public space and performance space.

“By day, the steps are used to display merchandise like handbags and shoes. At night, they become seating for art events. On the slope opposite, a small platform folds down to create a cantilevered stage. A row of cast iron columns, sheathed in white at their bases, forms one side of the jewel-box theater's porous walls. Like the rest of the store, the space is activated by the interplay between the open and the bounded, the seamless and the seamed……….. In contrast to the Wave, a set of metal boxes, in sizes small, medium, and extra-large, hang from tracks mounted on the ceiling. A Surrealist inversion, they define the upended skyline of a city that has moved indoors and flipped its head. The track system enables the density of the cityscape to be variously configured. Partly enclosed by metal screens, the boxes can be used as showcases for clothes or cages for intrepid go-go dancers……..At the Prada store, Antonioni is recast as a shopping experience. Consumption takes the place of production in the post-industrial landscape. Miuccia Prada plays Monica Vitti to Rem Koolhaas's Richard Harris. Anomie, anyone?........” New York Times December 12, 2001

Although I do not necessarily propose on presenting a retail space for my thesis, the intentions in the design of the Prada Store are aligned with my interests in cross programming.

Marc, please let me know if you think I am on the right track with this or if there might be another space better suited for me to analyze for the first assignment. I will continue my research tonight and post any other items that might be of interest to the class.