Technopoly The Surrender of Culture to Technology Essay Example For Students

Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology Essay Perhaps David Biancullis new book should have been entitled Defending the Indefensible. Instead, the veteran television critic for the New York Post has chosen Teleliteracy: Taking Television Seriously as his title, and made the virtual vindication of the medium his proposition. We wont appreciate the artistry of television or understand American culture, Bianculli argues, until we begin to take television programming seriously. Bianculli has a two-pronged defense. First, he goes to bat for television by reframing the idea of cultural literacy, described a few years ago by E.C. Hirsch in his book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Hirsch condemned American education for not transmitting the significant artifacts and ideas of our culture, but Bianculli asserts that such a concern misses the point. If you want to talk about knowledge that is shared by everyone, he says, the area to focus on is television. Television is our most common language, our most popular pastime, our basic point of reference. Hence, the term teleliteracy. Where most social critics would find this situation lamentable, Bianculli finds much to endorse and even celebrate about American television. Second, Bianculli scolds intellectuals and academics who vilify popular culture and, in what has become a time-honored tradition, ridicule television. From Plato to Postman, Bianculli writes, referring to fellow media commentator Neil Postman, its been open season on the most popular mass media and its about time someone fired back. The omnipresent storyteller   We will write a custom essay on Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Bianculli takes a first shot with a media manifesto through which he seeks to prove that, contrary to the opinions of many of his peers, television is too important to turn off. In short chapters positing arguments ranging from the sociological (television is not the cause of violence in America) to the theoretical (some television can be considered literature), Bianculli avows that television deserves serious study. He doesnt tell us how to cultivate teleliteracy, however; he only tells us its okay to watch television. Although he writes with an appealingly breezy style, Biancullis whimsical treatment of the weighty topics introduced in this book undermines his thesis an irony, since he opens the book with a compelling case for seriousness. Teleliteracy does demonstrate that television dramas, sit-coms and news shows need to be the subject of an authentic, humanistic discourse. As a society shaped by the media, we need to discuss the habits of thought as well as the values and myths this omnipresent storyteller helps to create and circulate. Neil Postman, chairman of the Culture and Communications Department at New York University, explores a related, inimically modern condition in his book Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. Postman considers what many may only intuit: that instruments of technology have become sovereign in our lives and social institutions. In almost every facet of American life, what we cheerfully call technological advances have altered human discourse, redefined work and play and displaced tradition and manners. Postman traces the origins of this phenomenon, and questions perhaps the most powerful myth of Western culture: that a new technology always equals progress. Conceding that technology has been a very good friend delivering the goods, making our lives cleaner, easier and longer, ushering in an age of unbounded information Postman cautions that our awe of its many accomplishments has blinded us to the consequences of its gifts. According to Postman, we have given technology carte blanche in our culture. Technopoly, as he describes it, is the condition where humans have little or no control over their tools. To give technology unlimited freedom and allow it privileges to be unguarded by human reason, Postman warns, is to deny and perhaps take away our judgment. This condition can clearly be seen in what Postman calls the information glut. Modern technology has enabled information to multiply faster than we can process, comprehend or manage it. Many believe that the more information we have the better off we are, but Postman suggests that we need to combat this situation through an ecological view of the technologies that in fact bring us the information. .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .postImageUrl , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:hover , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:visited , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:active { border:0!important; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:active , .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589 .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc0bf300134185b609919708b428dd589:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Recent Negative Effect of Technology on Societ Essay Selling cars and Amy Fisher   What do we need to know about television? Not how many cars it can sell or how many stories about Amy Fisher it can tell, Postman contends. We need, he writes, to know if television (or any technology) changes our conception of reality, the relationship of the rich to the poor, the idea of happiness itself. What we need to know, in other words, is not how efficient a technology is, but what values it favors or discourages. We are living in a time when our social problems are so acute that we look for a deus ex machina to solve them, and for many technology has replaced religion or art. As Postman explains, those who are in love with technology constantly develop new methods for putting forth its agenda. It is inescapable that every culture must negotiate with technology, whether it does so intelligently or not, he reasons. That forces another question: Are we up to this challenge?

Making A Close Reading Essay Is Important

Making A Close Reading Essay Is ImportantA sample close viewing essay should be given to the student so that he or she can see what the format will look like. In order to get this completed correctly, the student should understand the different roles of each writer. It is also important for the student to understand the things that can happen in a close viewing.Close viewing will begin with the student delivering his opening paragraph to the reader. This is a section that is usually very brief and can often contain several sentences in its entirety. When the student delivers his opening paragraph, he should include the name of the person giving the reading and his or her last name. After this opening paragraph, it will be time for the student to use the personal information on the list. Next, the student should introduce the writer who is about to give the reading.Next, the student will read the paragraph he or she is writing and decide what information from the reading he or she wan ts to include in the paragraph. Some examples of this could be a quote from the student's own experience, a part of a book a person has been thinking about or even a picture from the scene of the reading. After the paragraph is complete, the reader should feel the tension and hear the voice. If he or she likes what he or she reads, then he or she should continue reading.Next, the student will look at the close reading from the perspective of the writer. The writer will be reading from the point of view of the writer of the reading. The writer may be reading from a fictional story or even telling a true story. If the student has a question, the writer may answer this, but it is important for the writer to have an open mind so that they can explore their ideas.The reader will want to see how the writer of the reading reacts to the events that are taking place in the scene. Thiswill allow the student to know what to expect from the reading. The reader will want to make sure that the wr iter of the reading is being honest and how truthful the student may want them to be.After the close reading is done, the student should deliver his or her own close viewing essay. Sometimes the student will be able to write a close reading essay, but sometimes it will be impossible for the student to do so. Some students might also be able to prepare a close reading essay for school but it is not always possible.If you are giving your close viewing essay to your college or university, you can expect the professor to give a student reading first. After this, if it is okay with the professor, the student may proceed with the close viewing essay.

The Message Of Babi Yar Essays - The Holocaust In Ukraine

The Message Of Babi Yar Essays - The Holocaust In Ukraine The Message of Babi Yar There are very few people in the world who are willing to go against the popular trends and do what they feel in their hearts is correct. But Yevgeny Yevtushenko is one of those people. In his poem Babi Yar, he tells the story of the modern persecution of the Jews, focusing on atrocities like those of the massacre at Babi Yar and the pogroms at Beilostok, and also the general anti-Semitism that killed men like Dreyfus and pervades the entire Russian people. The poem uses many literary devices, such as graphic imagery and contrasts, while painting a very clear picture of the scenes of pure horror. Babi Yar is written in many different voices, all of which, however, have the same message. The author starts off with his own perspective, then goes on and describes certain people in modern Jewish history whose lives will forever be remembered as symbols of the time. At the end of the poem the author comes back and speaks in his own voice, yet this time he delivers a message to his people about how they have committed a large number of these crimes against the Jews, yet think that such actions are pure and good for Russia. By switching from the voices of those who were so afflicted by the persecution to a voice of accusation, the author effectively points out how foolish the arguments of the Russians are when they try to point out any validity in killing millions of Jews. The poem starts out with a description of the ravine at Babi Yar. However, all it says is that there is nothing to describe. It calls the steep ravine, which is the grave sight of one hundred thousand people, the only memorial that is there. This frightens the author, because the massiveness of the tragedy deserves at least some recognition. Then Yevtushenko realizes that fear is a part of Judaism, something that is as old as them, and therefore originating with them. He says that he too must be a Jew for he is afraid of what his people and his society have become. Many years ago, in the "ancient days," it would not be such a shock to see the Jews enslaved in Egypt or crucified as a means of torture and death, but even in modern times the same things are going on-he still has the marks from where the nails pierced him. The author has used classical examples of Jewish persecution which every one knows is gone in the physical sense, but show how they still exist in the theoretical aspect, as the persecution is still occurring. In the next three ezzas, the poem takes the ezdpoint of three figures whose stories are pertinent examples of what Yevtushenko is trying to rely in this poem. First the voice of Dreyfus is used, and the ezza describes how horribly and unfairly he was treated, and how the country and its leaders turned their backs on him. There are two important literary devices used in this section. First the author puts the word "pettiness" on a line by itself. This is used as a declaration of what the author feels anti-Semitism is based on. It is because of pettiness that Dreyfus was accused and further because of pettiness that he was not pardoned when it was proven that he had not committed any crime. The next important device is the description of ladies with their umbrellas. This is an image to the wealthy aristocracy of France, who not only turned their backs on Dreyfus and did not help him, but also increased the effort to have him punished unnecessarily. The next Jewish figure whom the author singles out is a boy from the town of Bielostok, where one of the most horrible pogroms ever took place. The entire ezza focuses on the image of how bad the people were who participated in the pogrom. Using graphic images of blood spurting all around and of victims pointlessly begging for mercy, the author clearly shows how wrong the pogroms were and wrong his countrymen were for allowing them to occur. A device the author uses in this ezza is contrast, as in

How to Use a Geoboard in Math

How to Use a Geoboard in Math A geoboard is a math manipulative used to support early geometric, measurement, and numeracy concepts. A geoboard is a square board with pegs to which students attach rubber bands. If geoboards arent handy, you can also use dot paper, although it doesnt make learning quite as enjoyable for the students. Geo-boards come in 5 by 5 pin arrays and in 10 by 10 pin arrays. Initially, a conversation needs to occur about the appropriate use of rubber bands when using geoboards. Those students who cant use rubber bands appropriately will use the dot paper instead. Once this is known, students tend to make good use of the geoboard rubber bands. Here are some questions for the 5th grade that has students representing figures while also developing concepts about measurement, specifically area. In order to determine if students have understanding, have them hold up their geo-boards each time theyve completed the question. 15 Questions for the Geo-board 1. Show a triangle that has an area of one square unit. 2. Show a triangle with an area of 3 square units. 3. Show a triangle with an area of 5 square units. 4. Show an equilateral triangle. 5. Show an isosceles triangle. 6. Show a scalene triangle. 7. Show a right triangle with an area of more than 2 square units. 8. Show 2 triangles that have the same shape but that are different sizes. What is the area of each? 9. Show a rectangle with a perimeter of 10 units. 10. Show the smallest square on your geoboard. 11. What is the largest square you can make on your geoboard? 12. Show a square with 5 square units. 13. Show a square with 10 square units. 14. Make a rectangle with an area of 6 and state what the perimeter is. 15. Make a hexagon and determine the perimeter. These questions can be modified to meet learners at various grades. When introducing the geoboard, begin with an exploring type of activity. As the comfort level increases when working with geoboards, it is useful to have students begin transferring their figures/shapes to dot paper. To extend some of the questions above, you can also include concepts like which figures are congruent, which figures have 1 or more lines of symmetry. Questions like this should be followed up with, How do you know? which requires students to explain their thinking. The geoboard is just one of many math manipulatives that can be used in math to support understanding of a concept. Math manipulatives help teach concepts in a concrete method which is preferred before attempting the symbolic format.

Issues Surrounding the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Research Paper

Issues Surrounding the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor - Research Paper Example This paper explores the issues surrounding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was to deprive America of its naval strength so that Japan could easily expand into China and the Dutch East Indies. The nature of attack When the interests of a country are threatened, its government and military forces can go to any lengths to take measures to neutralize those threats. Same happened with Japan whose expansion in China was threatened by the placement of the oil embargo upon her by America. The US Military essentially served as a threat for Japan’s interests, and so Japan acted to neutralize them. History provides evidence that America herself has acted in similar ways to expand. For example, the Mexican people and the indigenous people of America were eradicated from the land so that the Americans could achieve their manifest destiny. Although the assassination of the American servicemen in the Pearl Harbor attack is tragic, yet the Pearl Harb or attack by Japan seems justified from an impartial standpoint. Lack of war declaration One argument that is consistently raised against Japan on the Pearl Harbor attack is that the attack was undeclared. Japan made a sneak attack rather than declaring a war formally simply because she wanted to win. It was not a kind of war in which Japan wanted to show its power or uplift its ego that she would feel the need to challenge America upfront. Instead, all Japan wanted was to oust a country that was intruding into her plans of expansion, and Japan would choose any way to achieve that because accomplishment of her plans mattered the most. Saying that the attack was illegal does not make sense because law and war are two terms that do not go with each other. Anticipation of war Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was meant directed at the neutralization of the US Pacific Fleet, so that Japan’s advancement into the Dutch East Indies and Malaya that would provide Japan with access to a range of natural resources including rubber and oil could be ensured. Both America and Japan were aware of the possibility of war because of the growing tensions between the two countries since 1920s, though the invasion of Manchuria by Japan in 1931 marked the beginning of the most complicated terms between America and Japan. â€Å"The U.S. did not want to take military action in China, but it attempted to influence the foreign powers to take a strong stand against Japan† (Perkins, 1997, p. 111). During the 1930s, Japan’s continued expansion into China led to the commencement of war between Japan and China in 1937. The attack Nanking Massacre caused by Japan and her attack on the USS Panay increased the fear of Japanese expansion in the West and sharply turned the people of the West against Japan. As a result of the growing pressure from the people, the UK, France, and America resolved to provide China with loan assistance for the supply contracts related to war . In 1940, Japan tried to control the supplies that reached China by invading French Indochina (Gin, 2004, p. 651), but the shipment of machine tools, airplanes, aviation gasoline, and parts were halted by America. Japan understandably thought of it as an unfriendly act by America. However, to dilute the perceived unfriendliness by Japan, America continued to export oil to Japan. This was done, in part, because stopping oil export was perceived as an extreme step in Washington and was enough to provoke Japan. The ideological affinity between Britain and America was unquestionable in 1939, but large swathes of the American media and public were

Consumer Credit Act 2006 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Consumer Credit Act 2006 - Essay Example The Office of Fair Trading has been given powers of superintendence over the activities and licensing of the lenders and others involved in allied activities. The lenders have also been given the relief of approaching the court for enforcing improperly executed agreement without procedural formalities having been complied with. Overall the Consumer Credit Act 2006 is a fair measure to both parties concerned and in no way appears to give consumers any undue advantage over the creditors. Consumer Credit Act 2006 is an amendment act of Consumer Credit Act of 1974 having a long history. The amendment was necessitated to provide for certain reforms in consumer credits and consumer hire agreement along with exemptions. Besides, it seeks licensing of all the related activities, empowering debtors to act against unfair relationship with the creditors and creation of an Ombudsman scheme to reddressal for complaints under the 1974 Act as amended up to date. This paper seeks to enquire whether the amendment act of 2006 is going too far to protect the consumers against the creditors and suppliers. Hence principles of Consumer Credit Act 2006 will be examined and whether the act gives too much leverage to the consumers who are the debtors to the detriment of creditors and suppliers. Literature review is a part of methodology of qualitative research. ... Hence principles of Consumer Credit Act 2006 will be examined and whether the act gives too much leverage to the consumers who are the debtors to the detriment of creditors and suppliers. Chapter 2 .Literature Review Literature review is a part of methodology of qualitative research. It forms the secondary data required for the research. The aim of the present study will be largely facilitated by review of literature on the subject chosen for the research; that is whether consumer credit act of 2006 has gone too far in pampering the consumers/debtors with too many privileges to the disadvantage of the suppliers/creditors. Background Expananotory note to the act of 2006 state that Government mooted in 2001 review of the 1974 Act through consultations with the interested parties on the impact of the then existing rules regarding information disclosure, premature settlement, unfair credit transactions, licensing of consumer credit agencies, financial limits beyond the coverage of 1974 Act and consumer reddressal mechanism. Following this, a white paper was published in December 2003 captioned "Fair, Clear and Competitive - The Consumer Credit Market in the 21st Century". At the time Government had been seized of the problem of over-indebtedness and trying to find solution to it by consultations with the industry, representatives of the consumers and advisers, as a sequel to which Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department for Work and Pensions jointly brought out paper entitled "Tackling Over-Indebtedness- Action Plan 2004". The major issues encompassed by the 2006 Act are 1) how consumer credit agreemen ts and consumer hire

Architectural Style of the Rockefeller Tower

Architectural Style of the Rockefeller Tower Abstract Skyscraper is a vertical small town rising in the sky with thousands of people who work in. And hundreds of thousands more who experience it and subrogate every day. According to (Renzo Piano 2000) tall buildings are firm and cocky symbols of power and ego. The Rockefeller had almost the same approach as Piano 90 years ago. John D Rockefeller had a vision to build a top of the rock monument to Manhattan, and to be his greatest gift for the people of New York. His vision began in 1928 when he least a land from Colombia University in the heart of Manhattan. The land intended to house the metropolitan Opera House. But unfortunately in 1929 a disaster struck in the nation economies. Thousands of men and women lost their savings and their jobs, and people were desperate for work. John D Rockefeller was the resolver, he decided to build the tower and the city he called his own will rise again. In 1930 the construction of the Rockefeller center began, and the project has engaged 75000 men a nd women to work to support their families. Upon its accomplish in 1939, the Rockefeller center became the largest private structure in the modern history. It lives in legend, the mark of a civilization greatest achievement at this time. The tower is no longer a dream center of the art, its a complex were all New Yorkers conjugate. Were business is transacted, were strangers meet, friends and families unite. From the top deck of the Tower, is the ultimate full-film of the Rockefellers dream. New York rose again, to become the acme of the global culture in commerce. The center became an epicenter of community in the heart of New York. Top the rock is more than a breath taking view of Manhattan, it is a testament of the power of this city. The vibrancy of its community, the splendor of its culture and the magnificent diversity of its people. The essay will investigate the Rockefeller tower in details, its architecture and programme. Looking if the building is harmoniously friendly and coherent with the city and in context. Its a city within a city and one of the early skyscrapers of the 20th century and a significant icon of New York. The Seventy stories structure has changed the life of the city. INTRODUCTION By the time the new century began, New York was a city in the process not simply of change but nearly of alchemy. The invention of the elevator in 1853 and the steel framed construction method that was developed in the early 1880s were the most obvious propulsive. The visible forms of a city is created by its architecture and its environment. At the beginning of the twentieth century a city like New York was in the process to define itself and its identity. Over the years Manhattan was testing the type and the form of its vertical style of architecture. First example with the Woolworth building in 1910 and then twenty years later the birth of the Rockefeller center in 1930. Its the example of New Yorks greatest monumental skyscraper that was proclaimed as a national monument in 1987. It was the right time for some development to happen to refresh the economic depression after a nine years crash in 1920s. The project employed almost 75,000 workers, the impact of a massive undertaking was felt even more on the citys morale boosted by Rockefellers smart move. Construction of the original complex began in 1931, and ended in 1939. The site was subsequently enlarged by the construction of the Esso (now Warner Communication) building in 1946 and by the (Manufacturers Hanover) building 1950. Both of these structures were designed in harmony with the complex of the Rockefeller Centers architects. Few years later the complex has been extended with new buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue but not related to the historic core. Its one of the most prestigious mixed used complexes in New York and America. The project was a result of many architects collaboration, the most familiar one is Raymond Hood. Hood was one of the distinguished skyscraper architects of the Americas Metropolitan era. After graduating from MIT, Hood decided traveling to Paris to resume his studies at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. His rise to prominence came as the result of his victory in the international competition of Chicago Tribune Building in 1922 when he was forty years old. After his huge success and a lot of tall buildings under his belt, he was commissioned by John D Rockefeller to work on one of the biggest projects in New York, the Rockefeller center. Hood was the head of the associated architects who worked on the project. Including Harvey Corbett, William H.Macmurray, Wallace Harrison and Hennery Holfmeister. Both Corbett and Harrison studied as at the Ecole de Beaux Arts. And Harrison was very involved in the design work especially after the death of Raymond Hood in 1934. The structure conferred Raymond hood, with the possibility to make one of the best projects of 1930s artistic movement of urban style. John D. Rockefeller was familiar with the clef of the economic actuality in building modern structures. He was looking for architects to explore their full potential of the artistic movement, not tied up to the monotony of architectural modernism. What the Rockefeller center needed is nice attractive plan as much as possible with pure looking exteriors. These specifications were suited nicely with the art deco style, with the advantage of a hopeful architecture that appeared clearly in the Rockefeller tower. The RCA tower The architectural design of the tower was the result of many conditioning factors. On the most primitive level was the accommodation of varied tenant recruitments and the maximum utilization of available land. The architects had considerable freedom in determining the mass of their tower. The solution was the integration of three different buildings into a single structure. With more than 1,000 feet long which spans the full block between the Rockefeller plaza and Sixth Avenue. The coherence results from the limited palette of material and architectural vocabulary. All the buildings are covered with buff colored, Indiana limestone cladding with gray aluminum spandrels in the skyscraper. All have two-over one steel sash recessed slightly behind flat piers to produce a significantly cohesive impression of the precinct as a virtually one structure. The RCA building includes three different types of spandrels, all of which have a delicate Gothic arcades behind. Stepped vertically ridged spandrels appear on the buildings lateral setbacks and at the top of the NBC studios. Leaf clusters rendered in an angular version of the art nouveau style appear in a two eyelet above the setbacks. The building is terminated with similar leafy spandrels, but with four eyelets. Lewis Mumford (A historian of the 20th century) considered these spiky terminations and the arcaded balustrade behind, as no more than architectural tension. The balustrade is usually attributed to Rockefellers preference for Gothic. The leaves however might well derive from the admiration of the Egyptian architecture. Some weight is given to this by the frequent appearance of the Lotusin the centers bronze screens. In the timeless monumentality of the Rockefeller center is the entrance to the building which recalls such a geometric structures and symmetry as at Temple Deir El Baharyof Ancient Egypt. Also the aluminum spandrels were practical as well as decorative features that weighed and cost less than stone. They surmount the buildings 5,817 windows creating a significant decorative pattern within the whole exterior. One of the things that Hood learned during his studies at Ecole de Beaux Arts that the first principle in effective urban composition was the axial plan. Which means a street or boulevard or even a formal garden surrounded by harmonious structures that leads to a clearly defined focal point. So pedestrians are guided through the passage, animating the scene and contributing to the pleasure of the city life. By far the promenade or channel gardens created at the margin of the Rockefeller center, follows the principal of the axial plan. A steeply pedestrian corridors from the East West extends the ambience of Fifth Avenue into the heart of the complex. The RCA West The RCA building west, is a sixteen story extension of the RCA tower that its construction began four month after the 31 story RKO building (now 1270 Avenue of the Americas) to its north. The building served as a backdrop to the Rockefeller center which is oriented to Fifth Avenue, but as the corporate front of the complex. It also shares the same materials and unique four eyelet leafy spandrels at roof levels. The RCA west is distinguished by the fact that its faà §ade rises sheer from the sidewalk and by the stepping back of its faà §ade around two low-rise corner properties. The Elevators Cores One of main factors that conditioned the Rockefeller centers design was the New York Building code and the introduction of new elevators whose high speed reduce the number required for the building service. Actually the tower stood in marked contrast to most contemporaneous skyscrapers were zoning setbacks created a wedding cake effect. The architects were required to group high speed elevators into the center of the tower and ring the center with corridors and offices that surround it on each floor. The architects came up with the solution of grouping elevators on both sides of the corridor which totally eliminate the wedding cake effect. In addition to those regulations that all lifts servicing the building should have a setback from the main streets. The pure geometry of the Rockefellers functional slab was paradoxically distributed by Raymond Hoods desires to give full rational expression. After a big controversy debates between the associated architects, Hood finally succeed in introducing setbacks at each point of elevator elimination. And cutting out all the unnecessary spaces left and letting the building stand on its own. The progressive narrowing of the building mass maintained the 27  ½ foot relationship of offices to building core and clearly expressed the decreased number of elevators required for the upper floors. 42 at ground level narrowing to ten on the 53rd floor. The functional expressions on both the north and the south sides of the RCA building and the setbacks are pure romance on its east faà §ade where their primary function is to dramatize the soaring 850 foot tapered shaft. Ventilation and Illumination John D.Rockefeller had the intentions to build a high quality business spaces. He insisted that all offices doesnt exceed a 27 feet from a window. The main idea was to maximize the amount of daylight and air to be able to penetrate the building. The sixteen story building in the west of the RCA is benefiting with much less light, its almost unpenetrated by daylight. This space is less desirable for office space, it has perfectly fitted NBCs broadcasting studios which needed no windows or any natural light. They needed a large amounts of horizontal layered spaces, the technical details of this unit were specially exacting. In order to insure soundproofing all the studios units were designed with floating insolated walls, floors and ceilings suspended and insulated from the buildings structural frame. They operate twenty six casting studios in the building, with six auditions rooms. One studio is the largest in the world, will be more than three stories high. The studios surrounds a central control room that will be used for complicated productions. One studio for the actors, one for the orchestra and one for the sound effects. This plan of grouping several studios around the central control room, is admirably adaptable. In anticipation of the imminent application of TV technology, NBC conceives the entire block as a single electronic arena that can transmit itself via airwaves into the home of every citizen. The nerve center of an electronic community that would congregate at the Rockefeller center without being there, its the first structure that can be broadcast. This part of the building was a dream, its a media city within a 70 story building, a new instruments of pervasive culture that simply broadcast life. The Sunken Plaza The genesis of Rockefeller Centers sunken plaza dates back to 1927 when Benjamin Wistar Morris was commissioned to prepare designs for the Metropolitan Opera Company. After a trip to Europe where he studied opera designs and such famous Piazzas as the one in front of St.Peters in Rome. Morris argued that the success of the entire project depends on the amount of increased revenue obtainable due to the creation of an open square. The sunken plaza is lactated in front of the RCA building from the east side at Fifth Avenue. A rectangular plaza about 18 feet below ground level. Having made the decent, strollers had the option of entering the shopping concourse or retracing their steps in an uphill direction. As the architects realized most people would avoid the last option. Other stairways were provided along the rear facades of the French and British buildings but these were designed as subsidiary passages. Aside from the open space itself, the Plazas focal point is Paul Manships bronze statue of Prometheus. Which illuminated at night dominated the center a gray granite rectangular fountain. 18 feet high and weighs around eight tons. The sculpture is covered by more than a pound of gold leaf. The plaza is one of the most distinguished achievements of modern urban design. Together with the channel gardens to its east and the private road (Rockefeller Plaza) to its west, it provides nearly two acres of open space in the dense congestion of midtown Manhattan. Rooftop Gardens The introduction of rooftop gardens was one of Raymond Hoods poetic contributions. One which like the building setbacks was a paradoxical outgrowth of his functionalism. Convinced that building from should evolve from interior requirements and not from the exterior appearance. Hood designed for the tenant not for the passer-by on the street. Rooftop landscaping is not a loss of commercial space, they enhance rental values by improving the quality of the visible environment and nature. The gardens were concessions to the office workers who looked down from the skyscraper windows onto what otherwise would have been an unsightly sprawl of neglected roofs. There is a various types of gardens on the rooftops, including vegetable, rock and modern gardens as well as one for children. Inspired by the international theories of such architects as Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, this combination of gardens and architecture of the RCA building was quite unique in modern times. Hood also was thi nking financially not only architecturally, since the project theme is to maximize the rental values of spaces, he considered all the offices overlooking the rooftop landscape as a financial asset. Higher rents could be charged for these offices as they are more benefiting from a nice greenery view through their windows. Does the Rockefeller executed all wishes? According to Rem Koolhaas the Rockefeller center has fulfill all the Manhattans desires. Prettiness, utility and service were all combined in one tremendous project that has totally changed the life of the city. The Rockefeller center collected different values, the balance of Greek architecture, the retaining flavor of Babylons magnificence, and the continued qualities of mass and strength of the Romans, as Koolhaas mentioned in (Delirious New York 1978). The vertical form of the whole ensemble was meant to symbolize humanitys progress toward new frontiers, a dear theme to Rockefeller, who sought to advance that cause through his charities. The city is not a single existence, its a combination of many layers that integrates together to formulate the city. These layers includes the architecture with the people that occupies it, the streets, landscaping and monuments. All of these aspects creates the concept of an urban city. In New York, the skyscraper adopts the same concept of the numerous strata but in a different way. Rem Koolhaas described it with the word schism in his book (Delirious New York 1978). Which means a skyscraper consists of many layers that are not connected to each other creating an unlike form of interior urbanism. All together in one single structure that work independently and detached from the city. This concept is called a skyscraper which best described as a city within a city. Raymond Hood believe passionately in the virtues of congestion, the balance between congestion and order. Hood was more pragmatic and willing to have a city that embraced contradictions and differences. What he wanted is to have great tall towers and smaller buildings as well. He envisioned a set-back shape for skyscraper, something that as we have now come lately to realize, was probably the best way to integrate great height and a good form. For Hood, traditions mean nothing to him, he was fascinated by the concept of an architect designed urban future and believed that skyscrapers should be the defining structure and the citys future. Raymond Hoods faith and hopes in the future of tall buildings, that are widely spaced, afforded both advantages of dense and concentration and efficient traffic circulation. He was described as a brilliant bad boy. Hood remained free of any theoretical literary attached to styles, so he went after strong design inhabiting misconceptions about what an architect should be doing. My Argument After the completion of the Rockefeller center, people saw it as a huge success. As it presented a new means of solving the problem of skyscraper congestion. Its not only about the image or the power of the high rise buildings, but the relationship between these structures and the urban composition of a city. As skyscrapers looks nice and tall, they also negatively impact on the city. Crating problems relating to the land, the traffic flow light and air. According to Daniel Okrent in his book (Great Fortune 2003) the skyscraper was nothing more than a machine makes the land pay. The vertical style of architecture that for a centuries had belonged exclusively to the exaltation of the church could now be adapted to the needs of commerce by the transformation power of technology. By the end of the twentieth century, New York has been transformed to a frightful forests of stone and steel high rise structures germinating in Manhattan. Especially in downtown where narrow streets were now s hrunken and shadowed by parallel rows of skyscrapers. When you walk down in Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue you can realize how scary is to be surrounded by tall buildings, Rockefeller Center on your right, facing 1221 Avenue of the Americas by R.Hood, and the Olympic Tower etc. When you look at the Rockefeller center, you can see the prettiness of the design and like Koolhaas described it in (Delirious New York 1978) Beauty, utility, dignity and service are combined in one project. Aside from Koolhaas opinion, I think if you are standing in Sixth Avenue and looking up, you might not be able to see the sky. Because of a three mountain chunks intersecting in one huge structure rising up, which at some point you cant see its end and you start losing the sense of scale. Which was the encouragement of the developer to the architects to utilize their full potential in determining the volume of the tower. As resulting of a gigantic building that even after it was completed, they were struggling at some point to fill many floors with new tenants. The idea of making a sunken plaza was brilliant, a new way of creating a gathering space inspired from the European architecture such as Place Vendome in Paris and the St.Peters square in Rome. But here at the Rockefeller, I think it has failed, for two reasons. First it was unable to retain the intended retail tenants. The main idea was to increase the amount of revenue which didnt happened. Also when you decent 18 feet below ground level, you feel yourself drowning and strangled by the hulking structures that surround you. The sunken plaza shouldnt be sunken it was supposed to be the contrary, a rising plaza with a nice view and a connection with the urbanism rather than an obscured one. The purpose of the glass windows that covers the Rockefeller center is to maximize the amount of natural daylight and ventilation within the office spaces. Nowadays almost a quarter of the building is unpenetrated with light, as a result of super-scaled buildings that became a trend in the 20th and its clear appearance in the urban of New York, especially Manhattan. The consequences led to a negative impact on the city, the 70 stories block is brooding shadow darkening the streets and antagonistic the nature. Conclusion I think the Rockefeller center has affected the normal routine of the city somehow. Its not only about how big or tall or stunning the building is, its what this enormous tower can offer to the city in a friendly way. The main aspects of any architectural developments is how it could use the full potential to be consistent and coherent with the vernacular of the city. This kind of connection and relationship that merges with the urbanization of the city is really important and shouldnt be avoided or ignored. The case here of the Rockefeller center is the contrary, it didnt really succeeded to offer these qualities. A seventy story skyscraper that isolated itself from the city ignoring all the values and meanings of a cohesive and intimate architecture. A complex that tried to separate a hundreds and thousands of people from the circumference and the city life. Aside from the nice exterior looking, if you look at the architectural qualities you can see that some of it failed and didnt worked well and efficiently. The gigantic volume of the tower without a defined reason, the sunken plaza that looks like an obscure hollow with no natural light and air, and many other things. The consequences of Manhattans skyline architecture became a jungle of super-scaled buildings that negatively impacted on the city, according to Daniel Okrent it was an architecture of brutality (Great Fortune 2004).