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Monday, December 03, 2007

Retro-Future: Glorious Urbanism


"QUANTUM SHOT" #328
link



Read the first part here

When living in mega-cities was considered a privilege

That gleaming Metropolis on the horizon? - Something to aspire to, the glorious destination to dream about, to shape your life accordingly and reach it as the utmost reward... Such ideas were popular in the infant days of futurism, in fantastic literature on both sides of the Atlantic.

Thankfully the "mega-urbanism" dream is replaced today by quite the opposite idea of an affluent living in the country - but frankly, both seem to be unattainable, clean-cut ideals that's only pretty to look at. And look at them we will - presenting again the rarely-seen examples of urbanism and architecture, some from the Eastern Bloc "popular science" publications and promotional literature.
Click to enlarge most images


(TM, 1967, Russia)


(illustration to works by A. Kazantsev, 1939-1956, Russia)


(art by Frank R. Paul, 1933)


The Dark Monumentality of Hugh Ferriss' Gotham Style

First, let's cover the basics. The whole "Gotham/Empire" style in architecture really took off after the conceptual work by High Ferriss. His 1929 book "The Metropolis of Tomorrow" influenced the whole generation of architects, with its moody, colossal projections, destined to forever haunt the dreams of would-be dictators and power-mad superheroes:















His works are currently on exhibit, more info here.


Skyscraper Canyons as Reflection of State's Power

Mega-urbanism and colossal architectural dreams of the 1920s and 1930s, in my opinion, reflect the general society's drift toward collective ideals. All Hail the Empire, ruled by (hopefully) benevolent tyrant and powered by the mind-boggling feats of technology. The life of an individual in these visions is indeed microscopic and not to be considered against the backdrop of titanic activity of the masses.

Skyscraper canyons were obligatory part of urban visions from the 20s and 30s:


(Fritz Lang's famous "Metropolis" movie, 1927)






(images from Futurama and "Things to Come" movie)


(image credit: Ryan Bliss, DigitalBlasphemy)


People's Palaces of Socialist Bliss

Soviets had similar gigantic aspirations in architecture, as demonstrated by the well-known Palace of the Soviets design:


(cover TM, 1952, Russia)

That Lenin's statue is proposed on a truly grandiose scale:



Large-scale architectural dreams and conquest of space are combined in this highly evocative Communist cover from 1954:


(cover TM, 1954, Russia)

America had very strange conception of Soviet's architectural ambitions during the Cold War:



The Soviets, however, dreamed large:


(TM, 1970, Russia)



(TM, 1967, Russia)

Note the super-highways, this was definitely very popular transportation vision in the 50s-70s:


(art by Syd Mead, from his book "Sentinel")


(image credit: Klaus Burgle)

US Pavilion Design in the 60s:




An interesting concept for parking: rotating hexagonal cells for each car -




(TM, 1975, Russia)

Flying Cities
(as envisioned by Russians in 1971)


(TM, 1971, Russia)

More rosy urbanism to be found in the Western pulp and promotional literature:


(image credit: Klaus Burgle)


(image credit: Plan59)


(art by Arthur C. Radebaugh)


Illustration by Joe Tillotson, to "Robot: Unwanted" by Daniel Keyes
Other Worlds, June 1952


Bubble cities were a distinct feature of the 50s science fiction:


(cover, Urania 1959, Italy)

Urban Futuristic Interiors

So what's inside cool apartments of the future? Sample Danish designer Verner Panton's rad Sixties interiors:




(images credit: Joel Johnson)

Urbanism turned out to be quite a different proposition than we imagined seventy years ago. There are numerous reasons to stay away from soul-numbing mega-city projects. Overpopulation, however, dictates its own rules, and we are going to see many super-structures to be built in the world in the coming years. Perhaps we'll see the visions of Frank R. Paul come to life, after all.

Next issue will cover retro-futuristic ideas for transportation.



CONTINUE TO NEXT PART

READ THE FIRST PART HERE

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Category: Art,Vintage
Related Posts:
Ladies & Robots, Communist Gothic Visions

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COMMENTS:

11 Comments:

Anonymous anonymouscoward said...

Hello,

the 2nd picture in this post (the b/w sketch) http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2084501870&size=o

struck me because the guy's ears look like Mr. Spock's -- just that this is 30 years before. Amazing.

That said: as usual this DRB post was delectable. Thank you very much and please do keep up the good work.

Anonymous.Coward

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Blogger josephlovesit said...

This is one of the coolest features I've seen online in quite a bit! Please keep them coming.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The 6th pixture from the bottom ("original unknown") is from Arthur C. Radebaugh. http://images.google.de/images?q=+site:www.palaceofculture.org+radebaugh

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Anonymous www.SoScooter.com said...

These are all really cool... and I think some of the ideas could really become reality. Of course... we're now into an era of increased interest in public transit (which is good).

The thing is, though, that most cities evolve organically (aside from the roads in the grid-style of North America) and therefore don't usually turn out looking uniform like in the visions. Architects don't even design their buildings to match well with neighboring buildings that are already up!

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Blogger Craig said...

One of the best collections of such images I've seen. Can't wait for the transportation.

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Blogger jayessell said...

The photo of the man talking to a woman pilot is from the musical-comedy-science fiction (3 things that don't go well together) film "Just Imagine", 1933.

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Anonymous willythesquid said...

Another great post by this blog. I love how much original content there is, and their daily link post is always classy and interesting. The gotham-style concept art is amazing, and I can see why it was groundbreaking then. While viewing those pictures, I was reminded of the visual style of the concept art for the "People's Palaces of Socialist Bliss" that I stumbled upon a good while ago - and lo and behold, there it was, a bit further down. Thumbs up!

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

Could the future be any cooler? Love this stuff.

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Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi
i think the 'flying cities' are supposed to be on venus
(my russian is quite bad though)

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Blogger dms said...

actually working on automatic parking garage in Sao Paulo, I interested in this russian peoject of rotative parking. Do you have other information about, like the name of the arquitects, year, etc...

thank U +++ dms +++

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Blogger Avi Abrams said...

dms, thank you for your interest - this was a concept in the early 1980s, I don't think it was given any further development... No other info so far.

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  • I wouldn't have imagined Turkey to be that beautiful. It is a definite spot for me to see in the near future :)

    _denise

    I make a living in Forex - http://www.chapter322.biz/forex-investing
    Read more

  • Most of the sites you describe are Greek and were taken by the Turks - they merely preserved it to have revenue from tourism.
    Read more

  • I visited Antalya in the Navy in '89. We had no idea what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised.
    Read more

  • None of the sites described here are Greek. They are preserved because they are history.
    Read more

  • heavenly!!!!
    Read more

  • In response to "anonymous" who made the comment that "most of the sites are Greek...": Why can't you just enjoy the beauty of nature and history without delving into politics and silly nationalism?

    Omer Yagiz
    Read more

  • "Love is in the air, and just about everywhere else"
    Muy buenas. You should see turkish houses when u come to Turkey.
    Read more

  • Well said Omer - re: the anonymoue comment about who a place "belongs to". That's why there are people who will always have a cause for war.
    For the rest of those who are intelligent enough to just enjoy the beauty, we're grateful.
    ..Tigerlily
    Read more

  • During the Athenian Empire, the whole coastline of the Aegean was Greek, but during the Byzantine Empire (Greek empire of the Middle Ages) most of the coast of the Mediterranean was considered Greece. That includes all of Italy, areas of North Africa, all of Turkey including Istanbul the then capital of the empire. So for you to say that Turkey took settlements from the Greeks is inaccurate. The fact is that the whole Mediterranean area is filled with the remnants of many long gone empires. The Turks aren't the only people that have Greek structures in their country, check out Taromina in Italy. You should also research the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in the 1920's. It left awesome ghost towns in (Kayakoy)
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  • http://www.patrykmoriak.com

    Feel free to visit my personal website for more views from Turkey and other countries.

    Many thanks for your interest and support!
    Read more

  • There are many of the beautiful places over in Turkey, it very nice to get relax and spend vacation over there. Best Regards,
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  • Kudos! Magnificent photos...
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  • That mini tank is a prototype. It's intended to be used for crowd control in the case of riots. The short pipes at the front are smoke grenade launchers, just some off the shelf parts shared with MBT's. The launchers at the sides are teargas guns. I'm not sure about gun mounted at the top, but it looks like a high caliber gun for rubber bullets.
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  • The astronaut patting Snoopy is Thomas P. Stafford, member of the Apollo 10 crew. Their spacecraft's nickname was "Snoopy"...
    See also: Wikimedia
    Read more

  • I think that martial arts technique is from Kung Fu, not Aikido. I gather this from the text under the pictures. Aikido is generally a non-violent martial art that redirects an opponent's energy, rather than using strikes such as this.
    Read more

  • The extreme car flipping was done in the James Bond movie, "The Man With The Golden Gun".
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  • The whitewater kayaker in the granite gorge is at California's Upper Cherry Creek - one of the best of the best. Check out this video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bx_Gcnrbus

    Steve Z
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  • I believe that the footage of the people playing "soccer" in the Radar dish is actually of people playing cricket. You can even see the wicket in the photo
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  • That 'moment before impact' photo is a frame from the film 'John Tucker Must Die'.
    ooxxooXoXXx
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  • No such compilation should go without at least one nod to Dr. Harold Edgerton, who was the first to reveal the beauty frozen in an instant of time. The first "milk drop crown" photo in existence is one that he made.
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  • Why is it amazing that water looks great without any added colouring?
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  • The fourth picture in the "High-speed photography group" isn't a photography. It is a digitally rendered image.
    Source:
    http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details.php?id=660
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  • These are just amazing!! Thank you for turning me on to these artists. Fantastic!
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  • Jackson,

    Doc Edgerton was a master, brilliant inventor, and by all accounts, a warm and generous individual. His name will always be associated with this kind of work. But, in fairness, A. M. Worthington published a book of high-speed photographs of splashes in 1908. The large portion of his work was done in the late 1800's.
    Read more

  • I believe that the group called "Dynamics of the Droplet's Fall" should be credited to John Bush at M.I.T.: http://www-math.mit.edu/~bush/bones.html
    Read more

  • Thank you Martin for the info; I also put in the credit
    Read more

  • Great article, but you overlooked a great site ironically called Liquidartgallery.com. There are some amazing images there by michael melgar. I first saw some of his photos on dpreview but his gallery is excellent.

    Dave
    Read more

  • High speed photography always fascinated me. The above pictures are a true inspiration.

    I constructed a timer for high speed photography that allows me to trigger a flash or or a camera shutter. I was able to capture water drops, popping balloons and shuttering light bulbs without much trouble.

    Please check some of my work:
    http://www.universaltimer.com/gallery1.html

    Ark
    Read more

  • Ark - awesome work, thank you. I am going to link to your site today :)
    Read more

  • all fantastic images.
    Would be nice if you can check out my website to see some of my water drop shots.
    http://www.ultimatedream.co.uk/gallery/still/still.html
    or
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/21583791@N06/

    Akpe
    Read more

  • Akpe: Great work! Will link to you in the next part article. Cheers
    Read more

  • Красивые фотографии. Кому нравятся картины нарисованные масляной краской смотрите тут
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  • steeply
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  • see my photo on one of my favourite blog, priceless :)
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  • Very nice. Always wanted to learn how to photograph well
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  • The pig-thing is for fixing an animal (usually cows / pigs) while cutting their hoofs/claws. On the swiss countryside (where I live), the "Klauenschneider" (claw-cutter) is a common profession - a man with a device as on the picture mounted on a trailer moving from farm to farm!
    Read more

  • Wow, that defines "mudding" in a new way. A mighty challenging overland trip.

    Steve Bisig
    http://www.pnwadventures.com
    Read more

  • In fact, it's not a Siberia. This road is in european part of Russia, while the Siberia is in Asia.
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  • To cpcat: yes, it so.
    This is Siberia.
    Europian part of Russia end on Ural'skie mountain, and begin asian part Russia.
    In Ekaterinburg there is a line, on the one hand which is written the Europe, and with another Asia

    Best regards from Russia. Moscow.
    Read more

  • These people should seriously think about other means of travel... like donkeys.
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  • Siberian roads are prob the best to test which production vehicles are the true '4x4.' Interewesting to see a hummer, range rover and land rover to test it out.
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  • That strange machine on blocks looks like a rock/gravel/dirt sorter.
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  • The "sight seeing" "mystery machine" is an old rock crusher, used to make ROADBASE (lol) and the like.
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  • You can find more about the six legged machine with google and timberjack. It's a wood harvester. Here's a video of the harvester in action : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_Y
    Read more

  • This post has been removed by the author.
    Read more

  • Got it - the "church on the edge" is in Foros on crimea (ukraine)! See here: http://www.blacksea-crimea.com/Places/Foros1.html
    Read more

  • The monster shown from Cloverfield is actually a fan made concept unfortunately:
    http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2007/09/fan-made-cloverfield-monster-art.html
    Read more

  • Car Parts ...

    after the end of long-test the car would disaambled by

    www.auto-bild.de / www.adac.de


    Ahoi D.
    Read more


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