I have actually been to the City Museum of New York during my first IDC Class, however we looked at a different exhibit that dealt with Jacob Reiss’ photos, and we focused on that time period. This time, there was a refreshingly new concept, and I liked that this museum wasn’t studying the past, but rather focusing on the future. This concept of fixing the issues we have with population density is relevant, and the solutions were also very exciting.
One thing was that I never realized was how much big of an issue population density was in America. On the news you hear about China, but rarely about America, however as our guide was explaining, more and more people are moving into cities. Perhaps this can be accounted to the fact that people tend to get married and settled down later in their lives, or that as a society we have become more career oriented. Therefore, I think it is important that we address this issue in our new era of architecture by making buildings that are definitely more space efficient.
The idea that these single roomed, small space apartments were already in Mayor Bloomberg construction plans for the cities amazes me, because as an individual that resides in New York City, I often forget how truly crowded it is here. The prototypes of apartment that were to be built, was definitely my favorite part of the exhibit. The tiny apartment was so cleverly built, and ridiculously space efficient. As a college student who would like to live in the city after I graduate, I can truly see myself living in one of these one-bedroom studios. The idea to me seems revolutionary, and I believe it targets the perfect customer base, because many single younger New Yorkers would like to live in the city.
The only issue that I had with this concept is with actual houses. Personally, I feel that there is a small market for people who would want to live in a small single house. A house is looked at an investment for the future, so it doesn’t make sense to buy a single person home. Also, these houses would be located on the outskirts of the city, and single people are more likely to live in the city, and then move out when they have families. However, if there was a large market this single house market could become big in the renting sector. This could work well with older people who haven’t settled down, but want to live outside of the hustle and bustle of the City.
Last, but not least the museum itself was beautiful. I love the chandelier they had in the entrance, and our tour guide was both passionate and informative about the subject matter. Her extra insight really added into the experience and showed me how seriously people are taking this issue. I also like the exhibition because it directly tied into what we are studying.
