i wanted to know if anybody could point me to a direction , particularly website, on REM's idea of this. (using the elevator as a pin point) I think i know the basis but want to know the theory - especially a building that can relate to it in Manhattan. I'm going to the library to look up some of the books on this as well. Thanks for the help in advance!
his book is pretty clear. it lays out the theory with examples in a rather low octane version of more recent rem rhetoric. with the exception of some of his own projects, the book is nothing but examples (with nyc buildings of the past) of the idea. what are you missing ?
it's not that it was 'good' or bad per se, it's just that it allowed buildings to be taller than 5 or 7 storeys tall whichever it was. the book said that a taller building was impractical because people wouldn't walk up the stairs.
the book makes the point that the elevator allowed a type of building that wasn't possible prior. the GSD guide to shopping book says the same of AC (others have said the same).
for examples of what the elevator made possible, see any building built shortly thereafter its invention which is both taller than 7 floors and has more than thre programs.
but then, that's all just a small part of the book.
Yeah. this isn't a REM point, but it also illistrates the idea:
Most european cities are low rise because the plumbing technology to pump water up to higher levels hadn't been invented when they were built, so this meant that they were only ever 4-5 stories tall.
there is potentially a whole psychology of elevators. there are already studies on elevator behavior: pushing buttons, waiting for, elevator silence, stopped elevators, etc. almost as soon as elevators were introduced for general use, strange behaviors and anxieties began to appear. check out wd howells' book/play about a drama in an elevator.
beyond the anxiety, there is also the more ecstatic impression of an elevator - the 'delirious' aspects, you might say. expositions and hotel atriums are great examples with their glass elevators as stand-ins/suggestions of a modern future. i particularly like 'charlie and the great glass elevator' for getting to some deep-seated impressions of this aspect of elevators: the trip to minusland (hell), the trip to the great sky hotel (heaven), the myriad buttons with no known destination....
i did a project in undergrad which attempted to explore some of these things, while also bringing in some completely goofy outside sources. starting with the minusland/sky hotel idea, i realized that this could be conflated with the 7 levels of dante's purgatory. elevator waiting is sometimes compared to purgatory anyway. and then my trivia-centric mind remembered that great disco song 'heaven on the 7th floor' about being stuck in an elevator with a beautiful woman (back to howells) and i was rolling!
exploration of the history of an idea/artifact and the personal stories and collective dreams and anxieties that go along with it can be very fun and helpful in getting at its essence.
cf, you sound like a very rational person. maybe to a fault. why not explore the irrational a little bit? people sometimes see/feel things that don't make sense to a dr spock. this can influence design and be influenced by it.
We at the Department of Standardization have taken your suggestion to sub committe for approval of irrational standardization. This department is always looking for suggestions for further standardization. We applaud your convictional standard!!!!!
There are so many interesting and varied stairs in architecture out there, I'd love to see cool architectural elevators... its basically a small vertically moving room... Glass elevators, Rem's showcase elevator in the prada store in nyc... What are some other interesting elevators? Any elevators with fine detailing?
Delirious NY
hello
i wanted to know if anybody could point me to a direction , particularly website, on REM's idea of this. (using the elevator as a pin point) I think i know the basis but want to know the theory - especially a building that can relate to it in Manhattan. I'm going to the library to look up some of the books on this as well. Thanks for the help in advance!
his book is pretty clear. it lays out the theory with examples in a rather low octane version of more recent rem rhetoric. with the exception of some of his own projects, the book is nothing but examples (with nyc buildings of the past) of the idea. what are you missing ?
what was so good about the 'elevator' in context?
it's not that it was 'good' or bad per se, it's just that it allowed buildings to be taller than 5 or 7 storeys tall whichever it was. the book said that a taller building was impractical because people wouldn't walk up the stairs.
the book makes the point that the elevator allowed a type of building that wasn't possible prior. the GSD guide to shopping book says the same of AC (others have said the same).
for examples of what the elevator made possible, see any building built shortly thereafter its invention which is both taller than 7 floors and has more than thre programs.
but then, that's all just a small part of the book.
Yeah. this isn't a REM point, but it also illistrates the idea:
Most european cities are low rise because the plumbing technology to pump water up to higher levels hadn't been invented when they were built, so this meant that they were only ever 4-5 stories tall.
there is potentially a whole psychology of elevators. there are already studies on elevator behavior: pushing buttons, waiting for, elevator silence, stopped elevators, etc. almost as soon as elevators were introduced for general use, strange behaviors and anxieties began to appear. check out wd howells' book/play about a drama in an elevator.
beyond the anxiety, there is also the more ecstatic impression of an elevator - the 'delirious' aspects, you might say. expositions and hotel atriums are great examples with their glass elevators as stand-ins/suggestions of a modern future. i particularly like 'charlie and the great glass elevator' for getting to some deep-seated impressions of this aspect of elevators: the trip to minusland (hell), the trip to the great sky hotel (heaven), the myriad buttons with no known destination....
i did a project in undergrad which attempted to explore some of these things, while also bringing in some completely goofy outside sources. starting with the minusland/sky hotel idea, i realized that this could be conflated with the 7 levels of dante's purgatory. elevator waiting is sometimes compared to purgatory anyway. and then my trivia-centric mind remembered that great disco song 'heaven on the 7th floor' about being stuck in an elevator with a beautiful woman (back to howells) and i was rolling!
exploration of the history of an idea/artifact and the personal stories and collective dreams and anxieties that go along with it can be very fun and helpful in getting at its essence.
I don't get it. The concept of the elevator and stairs is patent.
Elevators go up and down, they are exposed or concealed, they comply with code or they do not.
by the pricking of my thumb something wicked this way comes
cf, you sound like a very rational person. maybe to a fault. why not explore the irrational a little bit? people sometimes see/feel things that don't make sense to a dr spock. this can influence design and be influenced by it.
Steven Ward:
We at the Department of Standardization have taken your suggestion to sub committe for approval of irrational standardization. This department is always looking for suggestions for further standardization. We applaud your convictional standard!!!!!
ooh. five exclamation marks, even. to what do i owe the honor? is there a protocol for that?
There are so many interesting and varied stairs in architecture out there, I'd love to see cool architectural elevators... its basically a small vertically moving room... Glass elevators, Rem's showcase elevator in the prada store in nyc... What are some other interesting elevators? Any elevators with fine detailing?
elevate her. wasnt that a song?
although i prefered the old one better
the old one has allot more charm. i was hoping for more from mr. burton.
thanks steve, it is interesting to think about it.
and ive been trying to find that song to download. would you happen to have the mp3?
sorry, i only have it on a k-tel album from then. i think it's called 'star power' and the song was by some one-hit wonder.
yes, vinyl. (and k-tel used very thin vinyl. pliable and easy to scratch.)
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