One of my favorite parts of the day at my internship is riding the elevator up to the 14th (really the 13th) floor of my building. Thanks to technology, the elevator transports me, and usually around six other people, each to a different story holding a new company/law firm/business. Each stop reveals a different world.
Larry Levine, NY Times, iVillage - so many different companies held in this one building, only separated by a few steel rods and some wood. As Koolhaas explains, "the disconnectedness of the aerial plots seemingly conflicts with the fact that, together, they add up to a single building." It amazes me when I ride up how many different worlds can all come together in this one edifice.
My favorite elevator trips occur when I walk onto the elevator in the morning and find that most of the buttons are highlighted, signifying constant stops and new images along the way. Similar to my enjoyment of taking the local subway versus the express, I enjoy stopping at the many floors to take in the sites. The 5th floor is gray and dreary whereas the 12th floor is all glass and almost too bright in the early morning hours. And while I enjoy experiencing all the floors, it's always nice when the door opens to reveal the four large leather chairs and newest editions of Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Cosmo, Redbook, etc. that make up my floor. I step out, say "hello" to the receptionist, and go to my cubicle, knowing that right above me there sits someone or something else completely new and different.
