In John Lehrer's article in The New Yorker criticizing brainstorming, he also told a fascinating story about building 20 at MIT.
In its 55 years, Building 20 has housed many MIT activities. It was never intended to last this long. "The building was constructed in...1943 as a war building and is of a temporary nature," reads an architect's memo, "...the life of said building to be for the duration of the war and six months thereafter."
Its "temporary nature" permitted its occupants to abuse it in ways that would not be tolerated in a permanent building. If you wanted to run a wire from one lab to another, you didn't ask anybody's permission -- you just got out a screwdriver and poked a hole through the wall. Of course this was in the days before the dangers of asbestos were recognized.
This building cast a spell over those who worked in it. Many former occupants have noted the magical power of the building to bring out the best from those in it, and the very real feeling that this was a special, even a unique, place. At the same time it served as a breeding ground, or incubator, of many research areas, of the minds of its students, and of new organizations. Many MIT laboratories and centers had their origins in Building 20, or else were formed by people who had spent years there.
http://www.eecs.mit.edu/building/20/anecdotes/index.html
Great share, it seems like spaces that are okay to "abuse" is a theme. I have often thought that this is precisely the problem with libraries. That they make every thing about preserving books (which in theory is awesome) except that the collections never seem modern enough or accessible enough to be useful. Similarly the truly old and interesting things are kept locked away and often are not permitted to be called by patrons.
ReplyDeleteA small trash heap would be awesome. Just a pile of bits and bobs and parts, surrounded by a lot of tools and electricity and machines and snacks.
Question: What we have a disposable building on campus, Jacobs, that is mostly empty. What would you do with an empty space between now and demolition day?
ReplyDeleteHi Billy, I like the idea of a disposable building... What would we do with an empty space? so many great things... for faculty and students I believe...
DeleteWhat if we held a "world fair" of sorts, allowing students to build contraptions, create exhibits of their work, but also showcased past inventions from NYU-Poly? I'm imagining things running through walls, machines flying from the rafters, some large-scale installations in the conference rooms, creating a new reality in a decrepit space.
ReplyDeleteMelynda, this is a great point... see Sana's post on color them freedom and my comments... I think there is much more connections between art, design and science that some people might think. If we could have some few empty rooms or an empty floor and have a competition and the winners would be able to occupy the space for a while...
DeleteA World's Fair would be awesome. What if we invited students from ITP, too?
Deleteinviting students from ITP would be a great idea...
Delete