Review for Theory in Junkspace by Rem Kooolhaas

“The built product of modernization is junk space.”- Rem Koolhaas.

Introduction
In his paper, “Junkspace”, Koolhaas is analyzing the present situation of architecture and urbanity. One can easily see that he is disappointed by modern architecture and that the aspect to which he is hostile is the purpose of architecture today compared to the purpose of old architecture. 
He makes reference to the pyramid, which for long were admired because they were created with primitive technologies. But today architecture is devised for consumerism, we build in the simplest way possible, and we use a mass produced material. Making our buildings boring and ordinary, rather than creating something superior we satisfy ourselves with what’s available. Today’s architecture is meant to be expedient and inexpensive.
While old architecture was meant to be grandiose, regardless of the lack of technologies faced or the cost at which they came. We can see that older civilizations built magnificent structures for their times and many of them are still standing today hundreds of years later.
 But in today’s buildings are meant to be replaced, we don’t design a building to last, we design it to suit a purpose that we assign it.  We build them with standards high enough for them to survive our everyday life and common natural occurrences. When Koolhaas criticizes modern architecture he doesn't refer to the magnitude or scope of the buildings; after all with the technologies available today we are capable and have built buildings that are greater in magnitude and scope. But in previous generations they used their technologies to create the greatest structures possible not the bare minimum needed for them to function as we do today. The junkspace he refers to is the space that is used up by today’s mundane architecture which could be used to create buildings with innovative designs.

"Continuity is the essence of Junkspace, it exploits any invention."

Continuity you want? Let`s play Lego

I do not agree whole-heartedly with Koolhaas`s relation of modernization with junkspace.
To begin with comparison between old architecture and new architecture doesn't justify the debate. At any point in history, the conceiving of a particular building happens to cater the art, the literature, the government and the thought process of that era. To imagine an Empire-state building during the antiquity or the pre-historic order is surreal or to imagine the presence of educational institutions outside the church wall during the dark ages is superficial. Similarly, devoting a huge piece of land to make a Parthenon in the 21<sup>st</sup> century is bizarre. The fact remains that thoughts, needs , form of a building and the way the structure is laid changes with time. In the modern era, it is not necessary to have your settlements next to the river, one can have them a billion kilometers away and still survive luxuriously.
Furthermore I agree to Koolhaas`s statement of 21^st century modern architecture being people`s architecture but that doesn't mean one has to entitle it purely to consumerism.  One can also highlight this as democracy, because post this whatever buildings  were made, they were one man or a group of people`s vision on what is right for everyone else. Isn`t democratic architecture any day better than autocratic architecture?  Would you prefer having your house designed by some royalty with no inputs  on how you would like it? And why should we constrict democracy-autocracy to its literal meaning? Modernization has enabled people to use any sort of material, any sort of form, its broken through the literal sense of proportionality.  Isn`t liberty and integration of thoughts of the creator i.e. architect and the user better than a one-sided conversation?

“Continuity is the essence of Junkspace, it exploits any invention that enables expansion, deploys infrastructure of seamlessness.” – Rem Koolhaas.

Koolhaas doesn’t seem to justify himself in this quote. Continuity isn’t the essence of only junkspace (the modern era) but one can see that continuity establishes itself all throughout history. Even when Romanesque architecture shifted to Gothic there was a sense of continuity in the object being made, i.e. the church but  at the same time there was a change in the design.  So the term continuity itself is perceptive. Furthermore, to say that continuity exploits any invention isn’t correct, because to build something new you always refer to the basic architecture and then provide it with the modern envelope.  Rather one should say that continuity is essential for invention, this reference to continuity might be used in the building as an inspiration or one might disrupt this continuity to give birth to a whole new era.
While I agree with Koolhaas concept of malls becoming air-conditioned cathedrals and the translation from conditional spaces to conditioned spaces to finally junk. What I do not agree with is why only criticize the modernist architects, when century old architects built their cathedrals or temples or palaces they too thought of something that had importance in that era and that should last for long reflecting a royalty hold in that area. Same is the story with the malls, they were built in the early 1900s with the intention of making a point and for long lasting because that was the need and the demand of the hour. Today mall seems to be non-existent because of online shopping which is easy, relaxing and more comfort-free. Again times and needs have changed and a whole new era of, “Temporary being the new Permanent”, is coming up.  
Conclusion:

Essentially one can consider, the poor planning of a city or spaces which have no architectural qualities or humans as junkspaces. These can be a series of shopping centers that are hardly visited anymore which not only include grand scale malls but small scale 24*7 grocery outlets that are half the time empty because there are too many in a row.  It can also include empty plots, abandoned houses and unused parks. Hence junkspace isn’t the building itself but the space which is negatively impacted because of the construction of that building. 

Are you too junkspace?