Architecture And Dystopia

A homage to the 1973 publication of Architecture and Utopia by Manfredo Tafuri—echoed in the title—this book is devoted to the radical experiences of the 1960s and to their consequences for the most recent developments in contemporary architecture. As a response to the profound crisis of Western culture the emerged in the 1960s, radical artists from Italy, Austria, England and Japan called into question the foundations of modernist utopias. They transmuted the difficulties of capitalism into a repertory of startling images that revealed the disturbing realities of consumer society, even in those places still resistant to the penetration of modern architecture, such as Superstudio and Archizoom’s Florence. Their model, though exhausted in the space of experimentation, went on to inspire a generation of architects, from the High Tech movement to Rem Koolhaas, who sought to employ the paradigm of dystopia as both a visionary and a constructive method, one which could operate on the architecture of late capitalism and generate unexpected possibilities for urban planning. In the light of these examples, how to define a unified “dystopian” method of design, i.e. a common ground for an architecture that, by its very nature, seems to resist systematization? Are the most recognizable architectural expressions of this theoretical framework—characterized by brazen displays of technology and structures of overwhelming scale—merely isolated cases, albeit of particular iconic power? Or do they belong to a wider landscape of antirational architectural projects? And to what extent are these disturbing expressions premised on the utopian tradition or, better yet, the conceptual model of “negative thought”? The goal of this book is to respond to such questions, thus initiating an open dialogue about the legitimacy of this critical category. With contributions by Dario Donetti, Marco De Michelis, Oliver Elser, Dominique Rouillard, Marco Biraghi, Marie Theres Stauffer, Maddalena Scimemi, Simon Sadler, Massimiliano Savorra,and Anthony Vidler

In Making Dystopia, distinguished architectural historian James Stevens Curl tells the story of the advent of architectural Modernism in the aftermath of the First World War, its protagonists, and its astonishing, almost global acceptance after 1945. He argues forcefully that the triumph of architectural Modernism in the second half of the twentieth century led to massive destruction, the creation of alien urban landscapes, and a huge waste of resources. Moreover, the coming of Modernism was not an inevitable, seamless evolution, as many have insisted, but a massive, unparalled disruption that demanded a clean slate and the elimination of all ornament, decoration, and choice. Tracing the effects of the Modernist revolution in architecture to the present, Stevens Curl argues that, with each passing year, so-called 'iconic' architecture by supposed 'star' architects has become more and more bizarre, unsettling, and expensive, ignoring established contexts and proving to be stratospherically remote from the aspirations and needs of humanity. In the elite world of contemporary architecture, form increasingly follows finance, and in a society in which the 'haves' have more and more, and the 'have-nots' are ever more marginalized, he warns that contemporary architecture continues to stack up huge potential problems for the future, as housing costs spiral out of control, resources are squandered on architectural bling, and society fractures. This courageous, passionate, deeply researched, and profoundly argued book should be read by everyone concerned with what is around us. Its combative critique of the entire Modernist architectural project and its apologists will be highly controversial to many. But it contains salutary warnings that we ignore at our peril. And it asks awkward questions to which answers are long overdue.

Architecture Post Mortem surveys architecture’s encounter with death, decline, and ruination following late capitalism. As the world moves closer to an economic abyss that many perceive to be the death of capital, contraction and crisis are no longer mere phases of normal market fluctuations, but rather the irruption of the unconscious of ideology itself. Post mortem is that historical moment wherein architecture’s symbolic contract with capital is put on stage, naked to all. Architecture is not irrelevant to fiscal and political contagion as is commonly believed; it is the victim and penetrating analytical agent of the current crisis. As the very apparatus for modernity’s guilt and unfulfilled drives-modernity’s debt-architecture is that ideological element that functions as a master signifier of its own destruction, ordering all other signifiers and modes of signification beneath it. It is under these conditions that architecture theory has retreated to an 'Alamo' of history, a final desert outpost where history has been asked to transcend itself. For architecture’s hoped-for utopia always involves an apocalypse. This timely collection of essays reformulates architecture’s relation to modernity via the operational death-drive: architecture is but a passage between life and death. This collection includes essays by Kazi K. Ashraf, David Bertolini, Simone Brott, Peggy Deamer, Didem Ekici, Paul Emmons, Donald Kunze, Todd McGowan, Gevork Hartoonian, Nadir Lahiji, Erika Naginski, and Dennis Maher.

The book Utopia/Dystopia is a companion to the curatorial project by the same title that opened at Lisbon?s MAAT? Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. It is not exactly an exhibition catalogue, but rather a reader containing previously unpublished essays on the ongoing transition from the five-hundred-year old literary notion of utopia, toward the pervasive, everyday imposition of its mirror image: dystopia.

Euphoria and Dystopia: The Banff New Media Institute Dialogues is a compendium of some of the most important thinking about art and technology to have taken place in the last few decades at the international level. Based on the research of the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) from 1995 to 2005, the book celebrates the belief that the creative sector, artists and cultural industries, in collaboration with scientists, social scientists and humanists, have a critical role to play in developing technologies that work for human betterment and allow for a more participatory culture. The book is organized by key themes that have underscored the dialogues of the BNMI and within each are carefully edited transcriptions drawn from thousands of hours of audio material documenting BNMI events such as the annual Interactive Screen and the numerous summits and workshops. Each chapter is introduced by an essay from the book editors that discusses the roles of research and artistic co-production at Banff from 1990 to 2005 and a commissioned essay from a leading new media theorist. Includes the catalogue for ‘The Art Formerly Known As New Media’ exhibition, Walter Phillips Gallery, 2005. Edited by Sarah Cook and Sara Diamond. Foreword by Kellogg Booth and Sidney Fels. Essays by Sandra Buckley; Steve Dietz; Jean Gagnon; N. Katherine Hayles; Eric Kluitenberg; Jeff Leiper, Allucquere Rosanne Stone. Afterword by Susan Kennard.

In the early 20th century, architects and planners, dissatisfied with the overcrowded and deteriorating state of large cities and inspired by the seemingly infinite possibilities offered by new technologies, began to propose their own visions of the ideal city that they believed would cure all of society's troubles. Boldly described and drawn, many of these proposals were considered breakthrough solutions and inspired generations of architects. But like traditional utopias, these idealistic planning schemes, though undeniably influential, failed to acknowledge the realities of the contemporary city or its inhabitants, inspiring the creation of some of the most disastrous and widely-criticized projects in architectural history. In response to the widespread failure of these projects and believing that their implementation was responsible for the creation of static and lifeless architecture, a new generation of architects proposed provocative theoretical projects that challenged traditional architectural design methodologies and re-examined the relationship between architecture and society. Their goal was not to impose their visions for how the world should be but rather to express the world as it is in order to foster new ways of thinking that could inform a more dynamic architecture in tune with the realities of its inhabitants. Today, the disconnection between the idealized image of utopia and reality is most commonly found in the proliferation of hyper-realistic architectural renderings. Advanced digital manipulation technologies have given architects the unprecedented power to "realistically depict the impossible," leading "clients and the public at large to expect from architecture and architects a degree of quality - perfection - that is impossible to deliver in the real world"[1] which is putting the profession of architecture at risk of becoming less relevant through its reduction to a purely aesthetic role that does little to address the more troubling aspects of contemporary life. This thesis is an exploration of the disconnection between the idealistic presentation of the world as depicted by utopian-fueled architecture and the everyday reality of human behaviour. By combining the power of dystopian fiction with architectural representation, this thesis is an attempt to imagine the world that architecture doesn't want to represent but never the less creates. [1] Belmont Freeman, "Digital Deception", Places Journal, May 2013, https://placesjournal.org/article/digital-deception.

Guest-edited by Marcus White and Jane Burry Cities are facing several coinciding global crises. There is the dominant existential narrative of the impact of and adaptation to climate change, itself powered by cities. In a time of unprecedented urbanisation and growth, resilient architecture and urbanism is needed in response. New modes of transport, renewed anxiety about robots taking jobs, AI, and the humbling recent experience of a global pandemic are all challenging norms and expectations. All of these are forces of social division, all are changing life experience, evoking strong-arm politics, and giving a sense of teetering between radically different possible futures. This is a story about reclaiming the urban design narrative and being alert to the potential impacts of socio-technical decision-making and design in cities. It is a story for its time. The issue explores the dichotomy of idealised visions for the design of urban settlements and the potentially shocking realities that may emerge from the same impulses and intentions. It examines the slippery territory between utopias and some of the ensuing dystopias that may unfold. Contributors: Tridib Banerjee, Daniele Belleri and Carlo Ratti, Steve Glackin, Justyna Karakiewicz, Nano Langenheim and Kongjian Yu, Mehrnoush Latifi, Andong Lu, Dan Nyandega, Jordi Oliveras, Kas Oosterhuis, Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, Ian Woodcock, and Tianyi Yang. Featured architects: Carlo Ratti Associati, ecoLogicStudio, Harrison and White, and Turenscape.