Architectural Ambitions: Can Science Fiction be used as a tool to predict Architectural Trends?
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the regulations for the Degree of Master of Architecture – Digital Architecture and Tectonics In the University of Nottingham
By Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Dissertation Supervisor: Guillermo Guzman Dumont
7th of September 2018
Faculty of Engineering – The Built Environment, The University of Nottingham, University Park, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
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TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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ABSTRACT
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INTRODUCTION
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Hypothesis
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Methodology
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Definitions
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Chapter 1 – What is Science Fiction
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1.1 A Commentary on the Present
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1.2 Means to engage with technology
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1.3 A warning for the future
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1.4 Poetics of Science Fiction
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Chapter 2 – Utopias and Dystopias
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2.1 Utopias and Dystopias in Architecture
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2.2 Tool for Urban Discourse
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Chapter 3 – Architecture of Cognitive Estrangement
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3.1 Science Fiction and Architecture
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3.2 Creating Sci-Fi Architecture (examples)
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Chapter 4 – Science Fiction Architecture
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4.1 Identifying the ‘Novum’
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4.2 Analysis of Sci-Fi Architecture in Film
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4.2.1 Blade Runner
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4.2.2 TRON
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4.2.3 Black Panther iv
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 45 4.2.4 Her
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4.3 Application in Contemporary Architecture
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4.3.1 The Jewish Museum (The Dark)
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4.3.2 Heydar Aliyev centre (The weird)
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4.3.3 Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia (The complicated)
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4.3.4 Exercise Conclusion
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Chapter 5 – Anti-Mimesis in Architecture
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5.1 Mimesis and Anti-Mimesis
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5.2 Trends in Architecture
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5.2.1 The printing press and Architecture
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5.2.2 Architecture in the age of pluralism
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Conclusion
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Research Limitation
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Further Research
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References
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List of Movies and TV Shows
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List of Buildings
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Index
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LIST OF FIGURES Figure i: Graphical Table of Contents (Author, 2018) Figure 1: Dystopian Novel (Gould, 2017) Figure 2: Blade Runner 2049 Concept art. (McCoy, n.d.) Figure 3: Archigram – Walking City (Heron, 1964) Figure 4: Sydney Opera House in Tudor Style (Expedia Canada, 2018)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Figure 5: Impossible Architecture. (Dujardin, 2008) 35 Figure 6: Melting Seagram Building Mies van der Rohe (Wurm, 2005) 36 Figure 7: Blob House (Stoll, 2017) 36 Figure 8: Abandoned Sports Hall – Pripyat (MY2200, 2012) 37 Figure 9: Sports Hall in Pripyat (Author, 2018) 38 Figure 10: Comparison of Sports Hall in Pripyat (Author, 2018) 38 Figure 11: Hades Landscape – Los Angeles 2019 (Scott, 1982) 41 Figure 12: Tron Legacy – Establishing shot (Kosinski, 2010) 44 Figure 13: Black Panther -Wakanda, Establishing Shot (Coogler, 2018) 46 Figure 14: ‘Her’ - Utopian Los Angeles (Jonze, 2014) 47 Figure 15: Spike Jonez's Los Angeles (Burman, 2014) 48 Figure 16: Jewish Museum photo by Gunter Schneider 50 Figure 17: Sketch of Jewish Museum – Projection Elevation Study (Libeskind, 1990) 51 Figure 18: Garden of Exile - Jewish Museum Berlin (Teicher, 2016) 52 Figure 19: Heydar Aliyev Centre (Wyss, n.d.) 53 Figure 20: Roof of Sagrada Familia (SBA73, 2011) 55 Figure 21: Natural Inspirations for Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia Foundation, n.d.) 57 Figure 22: A MicroTAC 9800X (Padluck, 2007) 59 Figure 23: Star Trek Phone (Gene, 1966) 60 Figure 24: Pompidou Centre (Barrell, 2016) 61 Figure 25: Archigram – Plugin City (Cook, 1964) 61 Figure 27: Structural Diagram 1920-2000 (Jencks, 1971) 62 Figure 26: Model of teleological development 62 Figure 28: Evolutionary Tree to the year 2000 (Jencks, 1971) 63 Figure 29: Drawing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame (Merson, 1846) 63 Figure 30: Timeline of Internet Penetration, ((Graham and Straumann, 2014) (Data Source: : World Bank’s Worldwide Development Indicators Project) 65 Figure 31: Architecture epochs (Voorthuis, 2008) 66 Figure 32: Dissertation Network Diagram (Author, 2018) 68 Figure 33: Feedback mechanism of hyperreality. (Author, 2018) 69
List of Tables Table 1: Definitions of Science Fiction (Compiled by Author)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin my acknowledgements by thanking first of all Guillermo Guzman, my dissertation supervisor for encouraging me to pursue a topic of this nature. His genuine optimism and enthusiasm for the subject are what drove me to complete this body of work successfully. Secondly, I would like to thank Sara Abouebeid for staying up long nights, discussing numerous theories on simulation and simulacra, mimesis and anti-mimesis etc. at late hours without any complaints and also my good friend Talha Tayyab who helped me shape my dissertation through its growing pains and for giving me great feedback whenever I asked for it. Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the support provided to me by my family who was very understanding of why I couldn’t spend more extended holidays with them. To my father, B.N. Somanath, without his support, I would never be here pursuing my masters, my mother Sandhya, and my sister Sanjana who patiently allowed me to explain the concepts discussed in this dissertation and give me feedback on it and also stay up with me going through the contents of the dissertation page-by-page.
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ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks to explore the field of Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) as a genre and its implication on Architecture. It analyses the poetics of Sci-Fi through the works of its scholars and draws parallels between the frameworks of Sci-Fi and design. The dissertation demonstrates that Sci-Fi is more than just a means to entertain. It can be interpreted as a commentary on the present, and as a tool for predicting issues or opportunities that may be addressed in the future by drawing concepts and ideas from Sci-Fi as well as the instruments used in the poetics of Sci-Fi, one can apply them in understanding contemporary and future trends in Architecture and urban discourse. The central component of this dissertation analyses notable works of Sci-Fi Architecture in film as well as contemporary Architecture and deconstructs them to understand what makes them remarkable and what effects they have on the world. It concludes that the futuristic depictions of cities and architectural styles in Sci-Fi literature and film are a valuable resource. The outlook of the worlds predicted in them are a representation of societies aspirations and struggles. Understanding these aspirations and conflicts is a crucial aspect of architecture that every architect must be sensitive to. Key words – Science Fiction, Architecture, Cognitive Estrangement, Simulation, Mimesis
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INTRODUCTION “We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” – (Eliot, 2014) In the fields of psychology and social sciences, predictions and effects of predictions on people and societies are an interesting and well-documented study. Karl Popper, an Austrian-born British philosopher in his book ‘The Poverty of Historicism’ (Popper, 1964), coined an interesting term, the ‘Oedipus effect’, drawing inspiration from the tragic hero of Greek mythology, Oedipus 1 . The ‘Oedipus Effect’ however, refers to the effect of a prediction on the outcome of the predicted events or the effect a piece of information may have on the situation.(Jencks, 1971) The theory suggests that the very act of making a prediction inadvertently effects the perspectives of all involved in the prediction, a version of this is also known as a ‘SelfFulfilling Prophecy’. Robert K. Merton in his 1948 article titled ‘Self Fulfilling Prophecy’ defines it as “a false definition of a situation that evokes new behaviour in those subjected to the situation, which makes the original false conception come true.” (Merton, 1948)
Figure 1: Dystopian Novel (Gould, 2017)
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Oedipus, the mythical Greek King of Thebes is said to have accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that would bring disaster to his city and family.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Science Fiction literature in many ways can be interpreted as a form of prophecy, it refers to familiar locations and are often set in the future. The futures depicted in Science Fiction arguably do come true. Technological advancements such as going to the moon in ‘From earth to the moon’ (Verne, 1865) , tablet PC's in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, (Kubrick, 1968), colour television and so on, were predicted much before any of them were possible or invented. A common perception of Science Fiction is that its authors try to prophesize and predict future events and circumstances; instead, it is a commentary on the present and portrays a distortion of the present, forcing reflection on what is natural, unnatural, right and wrong. (Parrinder, 1995) Even though Science Fiction does not intend to prophesise, the ‘Oedipus effect’ inevitably does comes into play. The act of commenting on the future inadvertently affects its outcome. The outcome need not necessarily be in the favour or against the foretelling. Architecture, like Science Fiction, offers a similar service. It tries to transport its users to another world by manipulating space and character of the built environment. It employs the same estranging qualities that Science Fiction uses to create spaces that affect society. Architecture is not an omnipresent phenomenon; it is created by social circumstances and is shaped by society just as much as society is shaped by it. It reflects the needs and wants of a society and at the same time comments on their aspirations and fears. Simon Unwin, in his 2009 book, ‘Analysing Architecture’, says that people make places that they want to do things in; they create places to eat, to sleep, to worship, to shop, and so on. The way in which people perceive these different actions reflect in their Architecture and it changes along with their worldviews. Architecture in many ways is also a form of social commentary. Like literature, it is primarily a social and cultural artefact. (Unwin, 2009) The Oedipus effect, through a cycle of mimesis and anti-mimesis plays a significant role in shaping Architecture. In the case of Science Fiction literature and Science Fiction film, it is the subtle element of the Architecture within the narrative that has the most substantial impact on contemporary Architecture. Sci-Fi Architecture in parallel to the Architecture of the real world represents an estranged society with estranged forms and spaces. These estranged perspectives of Architecture and the built environment provide architects and designers alike with a unique way of addressing contemporary issues.
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Hypothesis Architecture in Science Fiction illuminates trends in contemporary Architecture and in turn, its relationship to contemporary society; this eventually affects future trends in cultural response through Architecture. Designers may look to Science Fiction to understand various interpretations of design in the future as well as to predict and prepare for changes in Architecture and architectural technology. Like Science Fiction, if Architecture can have effects on the future, just as prophecies do through the ‘Oedipus effect’, Architects and designers must be sensitive in the approach they take in addressing the future and future technologies. If Science Fiction is a commentary on the present society and it provides us with insights on social issues and dilemmas, then Science Fiction Architecture should also be looked at for inspirations to solve contemporary issues as well as to gauge a societies unfulfilled aspiration.
Methodology The methodology employed in this dissertation is based on the qualitative inquiry into the poetics of Science Fiction and its relationship with Architecture. To better understand the hypothesis, relevant case studies are analysed, and an exercise in exploring concepts presented within the hypothesis is carried out. The dissertation first defines Science Fiction according to different philosophers and authors in the literary genre from different points in history and establishes a shared understanding of the sub-genre. The role of Science Fiction is discussed in relation to the past and present, and what other intentions Science Fiction authors may have behind the concepts explored in their narratives. Once the idea of Science Fiction as a commentary on contemporary society is established, the concept of Utopia and Dystopia is introduced as crucial elements of the Science Fiction narrative, hence, the relationship between Science Fiction and urban discourse is established. The idea of using Science Fiction as a tool for analysing urban discourse is discussed through the ideas and concepts put forward by Nezar AlSayyad and other prominent commentators of postmodern theory. 11
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Having established a clear relationship between Science Fiction and urban discourse the paper further analyses the poetics of Science Fiction as understood by Science Fiction scholar Darko Suvin as well as his contemporaries. The driving principles and metaphors of Science Fiction are then used to understand the architectural design process. The idea of cognitive estrangement, a fundamental concept in Science Fiction is applied to creating Science Fiction imagery using architectural elements to engage in Urban discourse and analyse contemporary Architecture. Finally, the dichotomy of ‘mimesis’ and ‘anti-mimesis’ in Architecture based on theories on simulation and simulacra put forward by French sociologist and philosopher Jean Baudrillard, as well as the relationship between Architecture and human thought with respect to self-expression through the works of Victor Hugo are discussed to emphasise the importance of a more self-aware architect and Architecture. It may be noted as this point that the order in which the philosophies are presented in this paper need not necessarily be maintained in the order that they effect one another. The concepts presented in this dissertation bounce off of each other almost cyclically through a larger interwoven framework of ideas.
Definitions Anti-Mimesis – (Life imitating art) is a philosophical principle that holds the opposite position to that of mimesis. Most notably proposed by Oscar Wilde, “ This… (Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life) … results not merely from Life's imitative instinct, but from the fact that the self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and that Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may realize that energy." (Wilde, 1891) Cognitive Estrangement - Cognitive estrangement is a concept derived by Science Fiction philosopher Darko Suvin in his 1972 essay ‘On the poetics of Science Fiction genre’ (Suvin, 1972). According to Fredric Jameson, in ‘Archaeologies of the Future’; Cognitive estrangement is a rather exclusive definition, it stresses on the rational scientific dimension of Science Fiction rather than acknowledging any metaphysical agency in its narrative. According to Suvin, the key to cognitive estrangement in a work of Science Fiction is the presence of a ‘novum’. (Jameson, 2005) Dystopia – An antonym of Utopia, an imaginary society or state in which there is great suffering or injustice. Typically, one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.(Stevenson, 2010) 12
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Mimesis – An imitative representation of the real world in art and literature. It is derived from the Greek mimēsis, from mimeisthai, meaning ‘to imitate’.(Stevenson, 2010) Novum - Novum, meaning “new”; The primary element in a work of science fiction by which the work is shown to exist in a different world than that of the reader. It is a term used by Yugoslavian Science Fiction scholar Darko Suvin to describe the scientifically plausible innovations used by the Science Fiction narratives which in turn drives the narrative forward.(Prucher, 2007) Oedipus Effect –The effect a prediction has that directly or indirectly affects the outcome of the prediction.(Colman, 2009) Science Fiction - Fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and significant social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and
Darko Suvin
1972 2001
1990
Year
Phillip K. Dicks
Authors
Patrick Parrinder
Definition of Science Fiction
life on other planets.(Stevenson, 2010) Definition Science Fiction is "… a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment.” (Suvin, 1972) “It (Science Fiction) must have a fictitious world, a society that does not in fact exist, but is predicated on our known society... (One) that comes out of our world, the one we know: This world must be different from the given one in at least one way, and this one way must be sufficient to give rise to events that could not occur in our society.” (Dick, 1990) "'Hard' SF is related to 'hard facts' and also to the 'hard' or engineering sciences. It does not necessarily entail realistic speculation about a future world, though its bias is undoubtedly realistic (Parrinder, 2001) Table 1: Definitions of Science Fiction (Compiled by Author)
Simulacra – A representation of a person or a thing. In the lexicon of late 19th-century philosophy, it gathered association with qualities of inferiority; a copy without the qualities or substance of the original. (Brown and Little, 1993) Utopia – An imaginary place or state of things in which everything is perfect. Depending on the translation from its Greek origin it may either mean ‘No-place’ or ‘Good-Place’. (Stevenson, 2010)
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Chapter 1 – What is Science Fiction A general understanding of Science Fiction is that, it is about stories set in galaxies far-far away, alien invaders, futuristic weapons and sentient robots. Although this is what it usually speaks about, Science Fiction is much more than that. Science Fiction is the literature of change (Walter, 2012). As with most literature (Blair and Giles, 2018), Science Fiction is also a form of commentary on the present, but what sets Science Fiction apart from most literary genres is that it is rooted in logic and facts. Whenever a scientific or technological development impacts a culture, Science Fiction literature expressing people’s feelings and opinions (positive and negative) will emerge. Science Fiction is a sub-genre of fiction that is set in a world that is different from ours by way of logic; this logic would then put into motion the series of events and justify the narrative of the author as the story goes along. It can be easy to generalise fantasy stories, fictional epics, and Science Fiction together under a single umbrella but instead, it is in a category of its own. What separates these different kinds of fictional literature is that in Science Fiction nothing simply is. As described in the works of Science Fiction scholars to be discussed ahead, the author of Science Fiction literature may not merely wish for occurrences in the narrative with no logical explanation of how this event would take place, what justifies these events and take the storyline forward. It is this narrative grounded in logic and reality that sets apart Science Fiction from the rest of fiction and makes it a unique and exciting literary genre.
1.1 A Commentary on the Present In the field of social sciences, there have been numerous attempts to understand and address social issues in the world. In the past century, society has seen numerous thoughts and theories shape our contemporary worldview, ranging from Marxism to Capitalism and everything in between. One of the theories that aimed to generate change through understanding cultural and historical events and challenging the status quo, was the philosophy of Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. Critical Theory was first defined by Max Horkheimer in his 1937 essay ‘Traditional and Critical Theory’ (Horkheimer, 1976). According to Horkheimer’s definition, ‘Critical 14
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 theory’ must simultaneously fit three criteria; it must be explanatory, practical and normative. That is, it must explain the inconsistencies of the current social reality, identify the factors that may change this social reality, provide clear norms for criticism and achievable goals for social transformation (Bohman, 2016). Even though the general relationship between Science Fiction and critical theory had previously been discussed (by the likes of Darko Suvin and James Blish), Carl Freedman was the first to establish this relationship with great detail in his book ‘Critical theory and Science Fiction’. According to Freedman Science Fiction is one of the most theoretically informed of all the fields of literature, he argues that not only do Science Fiction and critical theory have significant overlap, but that Science Fiction is a genre that is predisposed to critical theory and vice versa. (Freedman, 2013). The most remarkable Science Fiction (in any media, be it movies, television or literature) isn’t necessarily the one with fantastical sentient robots and evil corporations but one that comments on the world as the author sees it. From books such as ‘Frankenstein’ (Shelley, 1818) to ‘The Martian’ (Weir, 2014), Science Fiction proposes scenarios that offer a distorted view into one’s society. For centuries, artists have tried to explain and portray the world they see around them; it is human nature try and understand the workings of the world. However, with ever-changing technology and development, the world seems to be changing exceptionally fast, and the more the world changes, the lesser society tends to recognise it, and therefore Science Fiction authors like the artists before them use the power of metaphors to explain the inexplicable. These metaphors are the author's social commentary on contemporary society and events. ‘Frankenstein’, for instance, is a social commentary on scientific discoveries challenging the idea of God and of a world that does not embrace change. A similar debate has now emerged on the use of genetic editing tools such as CRISPR 2 to genetically modify physical traits of human beings, particularly the aesthetic traits of newborn children (Rodriguez, 2016). Whereas, ‘The Martian’ is a
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“CRISPR” (pronounced “crisper”) stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are the hallmark of a bacterial defence system that forms the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology. The technology can be used in possibly editing aesthetic traits in the human genome.(Broad Institute, 2014)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 commentary on the human capacity for altruism amidst global politics and bureaucracy. Metaphors like these and many more that are forged in Science Fiction have shaped how we see the ever-changing world of the 20th and 21st Century. Science Fiction has often provided its audience with social commentaries on technology, politics and even economics (Newitz, 2018). Like critical theory, what Science Fiction does is, rather than solving problems presented by the existing social order it challenges the social order itself to cause a change in the world. By confronting problems in the form of a metaphor or a thought experiment, Science Fiction provides the audience with an alternative lens to observe their society and form objective opinions on contemporary issues or to make un-biased observations on their own condition.
1.2 Means to engage with technology Most academic approaches to projections of the future, be it regarding design or technology, relies heavily on research data based on studies and think tanks, but the information from this data is only that; it is pure data, and without appropriate context, it is hard to interpret and sometimes can even be misleading. Data without a communicative medium remains in the hands of the few. To be able to empower the masses, information must be effectively communicated. In the case of science and technology, the general population needs to be informed through communicative strategies that seek the intellectual involvement of the audience. For instance, in 1950; Alan Turing, an English computer scientist, philosopher and mathematician published his landmark paper in ‘MIND a quarterly review’ on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and put forward the concept of the ‘imitation game’ what is not popularly known as the ‘Turing Test’. It was developed by Alan Turing as a test for gauging a machines ability to display intelligent behaviour in a way that is similar to or indistinguishable even from that of a human. It was the first time a strong understanding of the philosophy of AI was put forward to the public. However, this information was published in a scholarly journal where the target audiences were limited to researchers and academics. Now, take for instance, the 1921 play R.U.R. (Čapek, 1921). Published years before Turing’s papers; R.U.R. revolves around a race of self-replicating robots that revolt against 16
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 the human race or the ‘Terminator’ series (Cameron, 1984), where Science Fiction conveys the pitfalls of AI using all the indicators put forward by Alan Turing but in relatable contexts in its interaction with humans. All of these portrayals of AI share similar concerns about this ‘futuristic’ technology with the great thinkers of our time such as Stephen Hawking’s and Elon Musk3, but they present it in a way that it becomes more appealing for everyone to understand. Simply put, Science Fiction takes information and weaves together elaborate narratives on how these concepts might be applied in the future and how they may interact with the contemporary world, and more importantly, they explore the consequences of technology in the human condition. “Good Science Fiction is usually about a human story with human problems and a human solution”, Theodore Sturgeon quoted in (Atheling and Blish, 1974) They show future technologies in their most likely implementations and help everyday consumers of this would be technology imagine how these concepts will be used or abused. The same applies to the Architecture of futuristic movies, they ‘anticipate the future and subvert the familiar’ (Ramchurn, 2014). Science Fiction is a commentary on current trends and what we want in the present. It also depicts future trends and translates these ideas into story and expresses them as a novum of design. For Fritz Lang a trip to the United States in 1924 introduced him to the great concrete jungle of early Manhattan , it was this urban landscape that inspired him to create the backdrop to his dystopian movie ‘Metropolis’. The Art-Deco meets Modernist style of the Manhattan buildings was a foretelling of what was to come. Even back when private automobile use was not so widespread, Lang predicted in his dystopian vision what the future might behold. The contrast between the elite living on the surface and the workers in the dark underbelly of the city again shows the logical end of industrialisation perceived at the time. (AlSayyad, 2006) Even though it may seem that Science Fiction usually portrays the most unfavourable outcome when it comes to cutting-edge technology, this is not always the case.
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Early in 2015, Stephen Hawking’s and Elon musk along with dozens of AI experts signed an open letter on AI, pointing out the flaws and possible dangers of AI and called for more research on the subject.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 In ‘Back to the Future’ (Zemeckis, 1985) the future is depicted as a time of incredible innovations which most likely inspired current technologies; such as wearable technology, large flat screen televisions, video calls, biometrics, self-tying shoelaces and a whole plethora of now realised gadgets.
1.3 A warning for the future The human condition is not without its vices; Anger, greed, envy and many other forms of behaviour can contribute to regrettable actions. Science Fiction has addressed the possibility of exploiting the capabilities of advanced technologies and manipulating them for a destructive purpose. It is the embodiment of man’s inadvertent tendency to be afraid of the unknown and the uncertain. A 2018 paper in the ‘Journal of social science and medicine’, showed that workers exposed to automation risk could cause significant health problems (Patel et al., 2018). It could be argued that this fear is partly due to certain amounts of mass hysteria propagated through Science Fiction. Robots taking over human jobs has been a common theme in Science Fiction for decades, but only now are we seeing the effect of this theme in people. One of the aspects of Science Fiction that needs to be understood is the use of Science Fiction literature as a warning. Science Fiction authors project their fears and anxieties about the future into their narratives. Through Science Fiction, one can extrapolate present trends into the future by transforming them into dystopian narratives (Parrinder, 2001). For instance, the past decade has witnessed increasing concerns regarding global warming and rising sea levels. After repeated warnings, there are still a significant number of people that dispute the fact that global climate change is a real issue. However, in the world of Science Fiction, the issue of global warming, climate change, rising sea levels and pollution have already been discussed in tremendous detail. Most notably, in the movie ‘Blade Runner – 2049’ (Villeneuve, 2017), a sequel to the first ‘Blade Runner’ (Scott, 1982), based on the 1968 Science Fiction book ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’(Dick, 1968). In Blade Runner - 2049, the beautiful coastlines of Los Angeles are shown to be barricaded by giant sea-walls in order to prevent the city from being consumed by colossal tidal waves as a result of rising sea levels. ‘Blade Runner’ gives us an idea about the solutions we need to start looking at if our energy ambitions go unchecked. Other warnings come in 18
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 the form of unchecked urbanism in the original Blade Runner where cities are made up of densely packed high rise buildings and visually cluttered with neon advertisements. There is a great deal to be learnt from both dystopian Science Fiction as well as dystopian Science Fiction Architecture.
Figure 2: Blade Runner 2049 Concept art. (McCoy, n.d.)
The end of the modernist period saw the image of modern Architecture be popularised as the Architecture of evil in its use in television and film, more specifically the High–Tech or the Structural style. In Films, Modernism has always been a popular choice for the representation of opression in society as shown in Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ (Lang, 1927). This representation of modernism has its roots in the founding principles of modernism, stemming from Le Corbusier's idea of “the home as a machine for living” (Corbusier, 1924). This principle portrays the home as a cold and unemotional machine where the efficiency of the function to be performed in the space is the only concern rather than represent a warm and comfortable place to live.
1.4 Poetics of Science Fiction In 2001 Patrick Parrinder4 published a book ‘Learning from other worlds’ in which he compiled a series of essays honouring the work of H.G. wells as well as other science
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Professor Patrick Parrinder is a now retired academic from the university of Reading. Parrinder has studied and commented extensively in the fields of science fiction and the works of great science fiction writers such as H.G. Wells.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 fiction scholars. In the poetics of Science Fiction criticism, there are two significant epochs; the first is the early understanding of Science Fiction before Darko Suvin and the second, after Suvin’s arrival.(Parrinder, 2001) In ‘Learning from other worlds’, Parrinder discusses the works of Sir Kingsley William Amis, an English novelist, poet, Science Fiction writer, and scholar. Amis considered social criticism and social satire as one of the predominant utilities of Science Fiction. However, a shared understanding of Science Fiction was that, much of the content at the time was either of poor quality or wasn’t living up to its purpose of social criticism. James Blish, an American Science Fiction writer and critique, in his 1965 publication ‘SF: The Critical Literature’ compared five Science Fiction books on the subject including his own to discuss the development in the poetics of Science Fiction . According to Parrinder, in his criticism of modern Science Fiction, Blish considered it to be confined to only a few publications. However, he also recognised that simultaneously criticism on the subject was ongoing in different mediums such as editorial columns of Science Fiction magazines, in reviews of Science Fiction books and finally in critical journals. (Parrinder, 2001) James Blish’s compilation of Science Fiction criticism brought together various ideas and approaches to Science Fiction. Another interesting and insightful critique received by Science Fiction in its early days was by Hugo Gernsback, the editor and columnist for his magazine ‘Amazing Stories’.(Parrinder, 2001) Gernsback considered Science Fiction to be a ‘charming romance intermingled with Science Fiction fat and prophetic vision’ he would further go on to propose the ideal proportions to the scientification of a story. Gernsback suggested the right proportions of literature to scientific fact was seventy-five percent to twenty-five percent respectively. Gernsback would also be one of the first scholars on the poetics of Science Fiction to highlight the importance of the genre in making the world a better place. He postulated that if every man woman and child were to read Science Fiction, the community would undoubtedly be benefited as it would give the readers a much broader understanding of the world around them and help them become more tolerant.(Parrinder, 2001) The second epoch in the poetics of Science Fiction took place after 1967, post-Suvin’s arrival in North America, with the introduction of the concept of cognitive estrangement. 20
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Though this concept was a newly coined term, the application of cognitive-estrangement can be found in satire and social critiques like Gulliver’s Travels and Utopia for instance. Darko Suvin is one of the earliest scholars to work on the poetics of Sci-Fi. One of his significant contributions to this field was the concept of Cognitive estrangement and the idea of the Novum. According to Suvin’s pro-Marxist ideology, there is a clear distinguishing factor between fantastical literature and Science Fiction. Fantasy fiction relies on the reader or consumer of the medium to blindly accept the workings of the fictional world because the story requires it to happen. Fantasy preludes Science Fiction to a time before rapid technological innovations and relies on the supernatural and fantastic occurrences that are not grounded in science. Some of the oldest stories in human history like those of the Sumerians or the Greeks are heavily populated with mentions of gods, demigods, monsters and magic. For example, in the Middle Eastern story from the book of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, ‘Aladdin’ the main protagonist of the tale with the same name comes upon magical lamps and a wishgranting genie. However, the author does not delve into details of how the various occurrences take place; this is because the story implies that this framework created by the author is to be accepted at face value. Fantasy is not limited only to medieval tales, modernday fantasy in the form of superheroes also exist where Science Fiction and fantasy are married into an amalgamation of the two, blurring the lines between where Science Fiction ends, and fantasy begins. Whereas in the case of a science - fiction narrative the author must provide scientific explanations for all the events in the story. The framework of the world created by the author is one very similar to the one that we live in; hence, the cognitive aspect, another aspect of this framework is one that would not exist in the framework of the world that we know; hence, the estrangement bit (as per Darko Suvin’s theory). It is this property of the Science Fiction world that would further lead to logical scientific explanations to the occurrences in the narrative, Suvin calls this a ‘novum’. According to Suvin, “Science Fiction is the literature of cognitive estrangement” … “(it) is, then, a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author’s empirical environment.”(Suvin, 1972)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Much of the burden of Suvin’s work lies on the shoulders of the words made famous in his essays, ‘Estrangement’, ‘Cognition’, and ‘Novum’. These are the products of Suvin’s efforts that appear in most intellectual discourses on the topic of Science Fiction and its poetics. An important point that was made by Suvin, as well as his contemporaries, was the distinction between Science Fiction and fantasy. Elegantly put by H.G. Wells (and most certainly endorsed by Darko Suvin) – “Nothing remains interesting where anything may happen” in the preface to ‘The scientific romances of H.G. Wells’. (Wells quoted by Gill, 1975)
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Chapter 2 – Utopias and Dystopias “The more disturbed men’s minds are, the more Utopias multiply.” – H.G. Wells Lecture on Utopias.(AlSayyad, 2006)
Wells’ idea behind the creation of Utopias seems to stem from a ‘wishful thinking’ perspective; that as times get worse, people begin to create more Utopias in an attempt to reassure themselves as well as others, that situations will eventually get better. Wishful thinking is a result of trying to resolve conflicts between one's belief and desire, studies have proven that in any given situation people are more likely to predict positive outcomes rather than negative ones. (Bastardi et al., 2011) However, that is all Utopias are, a wishful predictive outcome at its best. Sir Thomas More is credited with writing the first ‘Utopia’. More’s 1516 book, ‘Utopia’ was a fictional work of socio-political satire that takes place in the island of ‘Utopia’ in the ‘New World’. The term ‘Utopia’ contains within itself a paradoxical interpretation of connotations. It is based on the Greek words ού (no) and eύ (good) plus τόπος (place) which translate to either a not-place or a good-place, a not-place implying that such a place cannot actually be possible, and the connotation of the good-place implied that instead it was meant to be an allegory to an optimistic future. However, the paradoxical nature of the term justifies its dubious interpretation. In a 2014 article for the ‘Journal of Utopian studies’, (Coleman, 2014) talks about Paul Ricoeur’s interpretation of the duality of Utopias, he says that Utopias have a dual character, a pathological one and a constitutive one. The pathological character originates from the interpretation of the etymology of Utopia from the words not and place, a not-place, it suggests that the term is “beyond redemption”. On the other hand, the constitutive interpretation utilises the good-place etymology of the word implying that Utopias allow for the articulation of ideas and ideals that make it possible to imagine a life better than they are at the moment, a ‘Utopian’ vision for the present.
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2.1 Utopias and Dystopias in Architecture In the context of Architecture, the duality of Utopia (between a pathalogical character and a constitutive character) has caused much unrest amongst those who use concepts of Utopia and interpret these usages in their entirety. The reason for this unrest is that the claims for Utopia in Architecture is usually undertheorized (Coleman, 2014). According to Coleman Utopia in the field of Architecture is presumed to not require any theoretical analysis or explanation, as Architecture is a predominantly visual and tactile medium of expression. This confusion of the terminology of architectural Utopia is once again caused due to an etymological dispute in the meaning of the word. This calls for action in defining the term Utopia in the context of Architecture as there are terms within the Architectural vocabulary that seems to be perfectly interchangeable with the concepts or (intended use) of the word Utopia. Utopias in the context of Architecture have often been entangled with the pathological characteristics of Utopias, implying that a sense of totalitarianism follows around Utopian Architecture. This is evident in projects that call for an absolute application of the Architecture and urban design solutions at once (and failing to do so) in order to solve a social problem. Though the inherent burden of using the term Utopia might be too cumbersome in its entanglement with its pathological interpretations, no other word comes close to capturing the dynamism in the relationship between architectural form and the social process. ‘Visionary’ is one such term that gets thrown around a lot in the same context as Utopia. The term visionary is defined as “thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom” (Stevenson, 2010), but this term does not come close to encapsulating the values held within the terminology of Utopias. While the definitions of visionary are included in the various crucial aspects of Utopia, the sentiment does not go both ways. (Coleman, 2014) Jane Jacobs is considered by many as one of the most influential voices in urban planning philosophy and policy. Jacobs led grassroots level protests to protect neighbourhoods from overhaul and Gentrification. She is most well known for her most influential piece of work, ‘The Life and Death of American Cities’ in which she strongly argued against the ‘expert versus everyone’ notion of urban planning where an expert in the field by virtue of his expertise was more knowledgeable about the neighbourhood than its 24
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 residents. Jacobs also voiced a strong critique of the urban gentrification policies floated around in the 1950’s to convert neighbourhoods into more care centric spaces. ‘Life and Death of American Cities’ is a book that looks ahead with optimism rather than cynicism. It voices great concern for the mishandling of neighbourhoods planning strategies, but Jacobs does so with the use of common sense and anecdotes. However, towards the end of her life, Jacobs last book ‘Dark Age Ahead’ a tone of cynicism and despair shows through the writing of Jacobs as she speaks of the spiralling decline of western civilisation comparable to that of the Roman Empire. Jacobs in her final book, almost with a tone of cynicism5, identifies five dystopian trends that in her opinion are causing western society to spiral down a path of a dark age: the decline of family sentiments and concept of communities, the emphasis of educational institutions on credentialing over education, the abandonment of science, failure of government institutions and finally the decay of culture. (Jacobs, 2004) Though Jacobs work is not even close to the realm of Science Fiction, it is most closely associated with dystopian literature. Jacobs predicted the housing bubble crisis as a result of western civilisations obsession with consumerism almost three years before it caused the collapse of the US economy. However, Dystopias and Utopias are not always constructed as a conscious response to societal qualms. In fact, the idea of a true Utopia is almost impossible to imagine. Any Utopia that can be conceived is subjected to natural events and other inevitable realities of human life. Negativity completes positivity and positivity completes negativity, The 2013 romantic Science Fiction drama ‘Her’ (Jonze, 2014) is one of the few movies in recent times that portrays the urban setting of the narrative as a Utopia, but as it will be discussed in a detailed analysis of the movie, a true Utopia is an impossible concept. Utopias and dystopias are just extensions of one another. Dystopian literature and concepts are the ‘canaries in our coal mines’ 6 a warning beacon to society. In Science Fiction, there are two general discourses to the approach of
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George Carlin, an incredible American stand-up comedian, author and social critic; in an interview for ‘The Progressive’, with Marc Cooper said, “If you’ll scratch a cynic, you’ll find a disappointed idealist” (The Progressive, 2001), and this sentiment resonates with the later works of Jacobs. 6
Miners would carry down caged canaries into the mine tunnels. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gasses would kill the canary before killing the miners.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 dystopian world building, a highly ordered dystopia or a highly chaotic one. Black Mirror, a critically acclaimed miniseries written by (Brooker, 2011) is an excellent example to demonstrate the ordered dystopia. The events in the dystopian Science Fiction series take place in an extremely near future and speak volumes about how technology affects our lives in different ways. An ordered dystopia is usually the result of a powerful corporate or totalitarian entity that seeks to promote order and obedience by controlling most aspects of the story’s narrative. It is a commentary on how large corporations in the real-world control so many aspects of everyday life without publicly acknowledging their involvement 7 . It is clearly representative of the Architecture of these dystopian mega-corporations in Science Fiction films. The architectural aesthetic of these antagonists have a characteristic style, Late Modernist, High-Tech or also known as structural expressionist. The Architecture of Black Mirror too follows this popular tope, the modernist-influenced style of Philip Johnson, the ‘International style.’ The Architecture of the spaces that are portrayed is almost an embodiment of the narratives on the show. According to Philip Johnson and Henry Russel Hitchcock in their 1932 book ‘The International Style’, there are three identified principles of the style: an expression of volume rather than mass, emphasis on balance rather than symmetry and the expulsion of the applied ornament. (Hitchcock and Johnson, 1997) The arrival of the international style resulted in the rejection of ornamentation, adoption of glass, steel, and concrete, symbolic of sanitised transparency and authority that dystopian corporations seek to assert onto their subjects. Infamously demonstrated in Le Corbusier’s description of houses as ‘machines for living’ (Corbusier, 1924). It is these principles that make the international style of Architecture appropriate settings for a dystopian discourse. The aspects that dictate the rules of the worlds in ‘Black Mirror’ are fairly consistent; the stories are set in a future that is metaphorically only a minute away from the present,
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Large social media companies like Facebook have been accused of skewing the information that would appear on a user’s screen thereby providing a biased worldview aligned with that of the user.(Granados, 2016)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 technology has evolved at an expected pace and is portrayed as a ‘one-ring’8 solution to all social problems. Essentially, these are dystopias disguised as Utopias.
Blade Runner, another landmark of cinematic achievement, on the other hand, portrays the urban fabric as a chaotic dystopia. One that is once again heavily influenced by societal anxieties of economic and political imbalances as well as a fear of malicious applications to advanced technologies. Chaotic dystopias generally carry a cynical outlook to the world. A world where all that was meant to solve problems have ended failing their objective resulting in new more complex problems. They seem to be logical conclusions of ordered dystopias once their optimism has faded out. However, within these broad organisations of dystopia there are common themes of totalitarian control of some form. Most works of dystopian fiction portray societies where oppressive social control and illusions of a Utopian society are established using one or more of the following types of controls. (Wright, 2006)
Corporate Control Large Corporations use society’s dependency on consumerism and consumer culture to maintain control over the population through advertisement and media like those seen in Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) and the Minority Report (Spielberg, 2002). Bureaucratic control Governments control societies using a web of regulations and red tape like ‘The Trial’ (Welles, 1962) Technological Control Society is controlled through its dependency on technology and social media. An excellent example for this is, Netflix series Black Mirror (Brooker, 2011) and I, Robot (Proyas, 2004). Philosophical/Religious control Society is controlled through religious ideology enforced through totalitarian governments like The Handmaid’s Tale (Schlöndorff, 1990) and the Book of Eli (Hughes and Hughes, 2010).
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The ‘One Ring’ is an artefact in the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’, the ring was one of many presented to leaders of different kingdoms but secretly possessed the power to rule all those who wore the other rings.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 The Topias of Science Fiction serve the analogous purpose of the establishing shot in film, to convey a subconscious message about the workings of a world. It is the embodiment of a novum, the guiding principle to all events that unfold within the universe of the literature. In an attempt to clarify what Utopia and dystopias might imply in the architectural lexicon, it is worth noting the fact that the term Utopia is much older than the word dystopia. As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter, More’s original intent for coining the term Utopia was to use the word to depict an imaginary island with perfect systems of social, political and legal values. As far as the relationship between Utopia and Architecture is concerned, there is no Utopia without Architecture; it require space and forms but there also might be no Architecture without Utopia, if there is no Architecture without Utopia, this may implicate Utopia in the overriding failure of modern Architecture in its attempt to achieve Utopia. (Coleman, 2014) Perhaps it is not Utopia to blame for the failure of modernism; it is the misconstrued understanding of Utopia. Utopia cannot be achieved only in the dimension of form and space; it has various other equally important aspects to it. Peter Blake in an interview with People magazine said Modern cities in their attempt to achieve a Utopia have produced traumas of horrendous nature (Wohlfert, 1977), this is largely due to an incomplete understanding of Utopia. It is not that the pathological characteristics of the Utopian duality have triumphed over the constitutive one, but the failure of modernism to completely understand the depth of the Utopian ideal that caused the ‘traumas of horrendous nature’ to cities.
2.2 Tool for Urban Discourse A city’s urban identity is heavily influenced by film. For millions of people around the world, a film is the only way to experience the culture of a faraway world often resulting in the first and only impression of this world that they will experience, this impression goes a long way in the minds of people. (AlSayyad, 2006) AlSayyad’s insights reflect Baudrillards idea of the simulacra and simulation. If reality is emulating the ‘presumed reality’ from the world of film and media then active interpretation, analysis and representation of cities in film provide designers and philosophers alike an interesting lens to view the image of the city and interpret the urban 28
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 fabric in ways not possible using traditional investigative approaches of social sciences (Tormey, 2013) Baudrillard’s concept of simulation does not claim that the simulation is a false view of the world, but rather that it constructs a real world called the hyperreality. The hyperreality that much of the urban population lives in is entangled with ideas and simulations of reality that is projected by movies. (Hegarty, 2008) The projection of a place as a Utopia or a dystopia can greatly affect this hyperreality. Urban planning and cinema share roughly the same number of years in their modern form. The urban socio-spatial dimension of the world has been featured in film from the beginning of its conception, and so have the usage of urban landscapes for backdrops of films. When considering the study of the urban, it is important to understand how it has been designed and planned, as well as how it has evolved. Crucial to this, is the understanding that a significant amount of work has been undertaken in this respect in disciplines other than that of Architecture and planning. Italo Calvino in his 1974 book ‘Invisible Cities’, says that the eye does not see things but rather sees representations of things that mean something else, this is a reference to the philosophical idea of structuralism9 in which entities (like words in language for instance) are not defined by the meaning they impart but from how they are different from other entities. (Calvino, 1974) Nezar AlSayyad’s book Cinematic Urbanism starts with the premise - “Movies are an integral constituent of the urban environment”(AlSayyad, 2006) and talks about Films as an analytical tool of urban discourse. The book further goes on to the conclude that “Cinematic technique and cinematic representation over time should reveal much about both urban theory and the urban condition”(AlSayyad, 2006). AlSayyad shares the same views as Tormey in the celluloid being an interesting lens to observe the world; where Tormey analyses the world through a lens of photography, AlSayyad proposes the usage of film.
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Structuralism is a doctrine that suggests structure is more important than function. It says that entities are defined by what they are not rather than what they are. It is widely used in linguistic and sociological studies.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 The theory of ‘Place Identity’ suggests that the idea of place is made up through an amalgamation of space and character. A character derived from one’s self-identity, as well as “a potpourri of memories, conceptions, interpretations, ideas, and related feelings about specific physical settings as well as types of settings”. What Proshansky and his colleagues are suggesting is that the identity of a place is not simply held within the place itself but also in the self-identity of the users of that place. This idea of Place identity is heavily affected by the hyperreality of place generated through film and literature. (Proshansky et al., 1983) AlSayyad says, “Metropolis was less a prediction of the world of 2000 AD than it was a model of the 1920’s scaled up to nightmarish proportions and overlain with a pastiche of the latest of that New York could offer”(AlSayyad, 2006). Analysing the world of movies as a means of urban discourse does not necessarily imply that the movies are purely a projection of the contemporary reality but that it is a driver for change in the hyperreality or the real world influenced by simulations. Movies in their depiction of urban reality are driven by a cycle of mimesis, wishful thinking, as well as the Oedipus effect wherein they can further drive change in the real world through their interpretations of the contemporary condition. Urban identity is a delicate term as major sociological transformations take place (Cheshmehzangi, 2015) and the factors that shape this social identity must be analysed thoroughly in order to understand the various scales at which they operate. Identities are merely a social construct (Wendt, 1994) and often contribute to the creation and maintenance of social values in terms of urban environments, and to define these urban environments they have to be expressed in terms of their sociological values that define and redefine the activities taking place in the built environment (Wendt, 1994). In order to understand the urban phenomenon or the macro scale of the urban identity, the elements that have the most influence or draw on this scale of the urban population must be understood. There is no other medium that has had the level of contemporary influence on a culture than film.
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Chapter 3 – Architecture of Cognitive Estrangement 3.1 Science Fiction and Architecture John H Stevens in his article for the ‘sfsignal’ bases his writing on the works of Darko Suvin (Metamorphoses of Science Fiction, 1972) and Patrick Parrinder (Learning from Other Worlds, 2001). He says that in the idea of cognitive estrangement, cognition and estrangement are not one single idea. Instead, they are two hierarchical entities that continuously interact with one another.(Stevens, 2012) In the context of Architecture, the concept of ‘cognitive estrangement’ still holds true. All design is based in rationalising information presented in the design requirement, framing this information in the context of what is the status quo regarding the objectives of similar designs, checking it and categorising it. This is the first phase of design, the cognition of what is known to be true and the second phase of design would be to innovate, to find an estranging quality and use it within the design. In the relationship of Cognitive estrangement, Estrangement, as put by John H. Stevens, is subordinate to cognition in the relationship but still very important. It is the defamiliarisation and alienation of all known concepts, the introduction of a novum. This is what the designer adds to the established formula to make the design unique. Bjarke Ingles of BIG said in an interview on ‘Architecture as storytelling’ that, “Architecture is the art and science of turning fiction into fact” (Ingels, 2012). What Ingels means by this is that architects use in their designs a novum, it may be technological, legislative or even social innovations and they use this novum to dictate the design and challenge the status quo. Ingles’ approach to Architecture is to find out what has changed since the last time someone designed to say a school or a hospital and have that change lead the design decisions. What will then follow is a series of logical decisions guided by this novum. Architecture in its purest form must tell a story, it must deliver an experience, much like Science Fiction. What is interesting about the idea of cognitive estrangement is that when it is applied to Architecture, we can begin to appreciate the importance of the user experiences and the stories that architects design into their spaces. Similar to the process of reading, experiencing a space should be a disjunctive process. It should not always merely serve its basic utilitarian purpose but rather transport the user from the world beyond the 31
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Architecture and into a space that engages in a narrative that may provide a transformative experience to the user. The emotion that is delivered through this narrative depends on the characteristics of the novum used in the Architecture. The novum must always make a difference and aid in the determination of the aesthetic and ‘ethico-political judgments’ in the hierarchy of design, be it spatial (as that in Architecture) or literary.
Figure 3: Archigram – Walking City (Heron, 1964)
“'Owing to lack of interest, tomorrow has been cancelled.” -Archigram, 1969 (Chalk, 1969)
In the discourse of Science Fiction and Architecture, there is no single entity that indulged in the art of merging the two mediums more than the British Architecture collective, ‘Archigram’10.
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Archigram is an architectural collective that came together in the late 1960’s in Hampstead – London. The group is considered to be one of the most disruptive influences in modern architectural discourse.(Sadler, 2005)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Archigram is an architectural collective that came together in the late 1960’s in Hampstead - London. The group comprised of various architects that had a similar discontent with the architectural community; that, relevant British architectural magazines did not publish student projects. This meant that ideas of aspiring architects unhinged from the limitations of tectonics, politics and economics were not given any importance in the real world. In the world of professional Architecture, there was (a) certain sterility and archigram intended to address this sterility in the Architecture scene - Mike Webb in the foreword to Archigram (Cook and Archigram, 1999). The group was fascinated with the polemic enthusiasm of Architecture school and wanted to break down real and imaginary barriers of form and statement that the established Architecture community were used to. Over the years that archigram was active, it generated over 900 architectural drawings and illustrations that extended beyond the mere ‘two-dimensional’ representation of the building that architectural drawings usually tend to be. Archigram was driven by an almost childlike excitement over what the world was going to look like. Though most of the works created by archigram were developed to a high detail, the projects remained unbuilt, but it is the contribution of these ideas on a conceptual level that was remarkable. Archigram constantly questioned the status quo and the established ideas of Architecture that required buildings to be static, immovable structures. Archigram also criticised the idea of contemporary buildings masquerading as monuments to the past, the idea that the demolition of the building was not acceptable to some because of how some buildings held a high value in the public conscience, that they could not be touched. (Cook and Archigram, 1999).What archigram achieved was architectural fiction, a body of work that arises when the reality is kept aside, and artistic impulses are allowed to guide the mind. These projects blur the lines between fact and fiction to allow the exploration of new architectural avenues. From the works of archigram in the 60s to the Queens museum’s exhibit of ‘Never built New York11’, architectural fiction has always questioned the status quo.
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Never Built New York is an installation in the Queens museum in New York City. It is co-curated by Sam Lubell and Greg Golding, and designed by Christian Wassmann. The exhibit shows a New York that could have been, it uses drawings, models and animations to put together un-built projects by great architects that could have changed the NYC skyline.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 American Science Fiction author Bruce Sterling is said to have first coined the term ‘Architectural Fiction’ in the year 2006 on the topic of archigram to refer to the approach used by architects to express themselves through the built environment much like the way Science Fiction writers use language. (Sterling, 2006)
Figure 4: Sydney Opera House in Tudor Style (Expedia Canada, 2018)
The recent leaps made in architectural technology, 3D modelling and photo editing tools has enabled a whole generation to be more expressive regarding their Architecture and the representation of their ideas using the built environment as a medium. For around 40 years since the British collective stopped their polemic work, the architectural community has never seen such enthusiasm in the field of architectural fiction until now. However, there still is a widely held notion that speculative Architecture or architectural fiction is ‘useless’ work, or it is a result of the rise in unemployment amongst architectural youth causing them to spend their hours curating these works of art to be circulated online. In response to this criticism, Avinash Rajgopal of the Metropolismag says (on the topic of responding to criticism) that it is a self-defeating exercise, the very purpose of Science Fiction is to be estranged with reality, not to be bothered by the pressures of usefulness and to rather focus on the possibilities of what could be.(Rajagopal, 2013) 34
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Figure 5: Impossible Architecture. (Dujardin, 2008)
‘Beyond Architecture’ (Klanten and Feireiss, 2009) is a compilation of the original responses of artists to the world of Architecture by exploring how the built environment is being used and abused and offering alternative visions to the presumptions of Architecture. It documents the creative exploration of the field of Architecture and the urban fabric. The projects contained in the book show how Architecture can be taken as a starting point for experimentation and reveal the creative potential within Architecture and the built environment in new paradigms.
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The book features works by the likes of Erwin Wurm, an Austrian born artist who is known for his humorous approach to formalism. The works of Wurm are usually inspired by everyday materials and everyday life. He represents his criticism of objects, cars, clothing and even Architecture, with humour and wit but it is criticism never the less. Like Baudrillard, Wurm comments of the relationship of people with everyday objects and the dependency of people on consumer culture, the way that people buy things that are meant to be symbolic representations of the way they live their life or want to live their life.
Figure 6: Melting Seagram Building Mies van der Rohe (Wurm, 2005)
Figure 7: Blob House (Stoll, 2017)
3.2 Creating Sci-Fi Architecture (examples) As described by Suvin and his contemporaries, the creation of Science Fiction can almost be narrowed down to a formula, a delicate balance between cognition and estrangement (Parrinder, 2001). By applying the principle of creating Science Fictional landscapes and environments, one can begin to understand and appreciate what composes a gripping 36
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 architectural narrative that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as delivers the relevant information about the urban fabric and spatial qualities of the Architecture in focus. The following is an exercise in using the concept of the novum in the context of Architecture (or more appropriately architectural visualisation) to deliver an architectural narrative using individual images with a short context to the image. To reduce the complexity of categorising the architectural narratives, the outcome shall be limited to either positive or negative (like the narratives in Science Fiction, Utopia and dystopia) Pripyat Sports Hall – Chernobyl The following image is one of devastation. The image depicts the damage and destruction following one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters. It shows an abandoned space, probably used as a gym or a sports complex. The space is abandoned and in a state of disrepair. The backdrop of the image features a series of regular rectangular buildings overpowered by a row of barren trees adds more despair to the macabre image.
Figure 8: Abandoned Sports Hall – Pripyat (MY2200, 2012)
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Figure 9: Sports Hall in Pripyat (Author,2018)
Figure 10: Comparison of Sports Hall in Pripyat (Author,2018)
The image presented above along with the title, depicts what seems to be a high school gym located in the abandoned city of Pripyat in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The recreation of the image uses the fundamentals of Science Fiction to create a familiar environment that engages the viewer to read the narrative through visual cues in the image. Using cognitive estrangement, the image can be further broken down into the cognitive aspect and the aspect of estrangement. 38
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Cognitive aspect – It is used to create a baseline for a regular gym with kids playing a familiar game. This sets the scene in order to provide estrangement.
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Estrangement aspect - Use of unusual lighting techniques, unfamiliar objects such as transparent screens displaying scores, unfamiliar textures and finally the skyline of the city filled with tall unfamiliar looking building shapes suggests that the city has progressed into a successful and prosperous future where it is no longer under the threat of radiation poisoning or the other side effects of a nuclear disaster.
The novum used in this image is of a scenario in the future where the radiation in Chernobyl that rendered the city abandoned has now somehow be contained, and life has returned to the abandoned city. The schools are now inhabited as normalcy is restored. Narrative – Positive.
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Chapter 4 – Science Fiction Architecture 4.1 Identifying the ‘Novum’ Applying similar methods as used in creating a Science Fiction Architecture, implementation of a novum, analyzing the Architecture of Science Fiction film should allow identifying trends in architectural fiction and how they affect the narrative of the story. Identifying the ‘Novum’ of Science Fiction Architecture helps us understand the core ideas and concepts that affect their design decisions. Science Fiction Architecture shares similar estranging properties as Science Fiction literature. One may argue that a major component of a successful Science Fiction narrative is the portrayal of the Architecture rather than the portrayal of the characters and technology. David T. Forting in his book ‘Architecture and science-fiction film – Philip k Dick and the spectacle of home’ mentions an interesting aspect of analyzing Science Fiction film, the home. The home, according to Fortin is the most familiar physical location in an intentionally unfamiliar world. And the portrayal of home can give the readers a glimpse into the values shared by this estranged space. After all most Science Fiction is about the quest to find one’s home or simply the reason to not be in one (Fortin, 2011). The Architecture in a fictional story conveys a great deal of information because of its cognitive properties. Architecture is everywhere and is something that everyone can identify with. Certain styles of Architecture can subconsciously convey more information about the world inhabited by the characters than words ever could. Different architectural styles over different periods evoke a certain emotional response in the audience with the use of materials, ornamentation and scale. This ability of Architecture to evoke an emotional response is why the analysis of novums used in Sci-Fi Architecture can speak volumes about the solutions that they provide to social issues projected in their sci-fi narratives.
4.2 Analysis of Sci-Fi Architecture in Film Architecture in movies is not only the location of a story or merely a means to fill in the background in the narrative. Rather, it is a means of conveying maximum information to the audience within the least amount of time. The establishing shot for example, is often the first visual element presented to the audience. It usually lasts from 5 to 10 seconds, accompanied with a musical score, it sets the 40
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 tone for everything about to happen in the following scene. It establishes the premise of the shot. And usually, the focus of the scene is Architecture. It could be the Architecture of a city (a skyline) or the Architecture of a building. However, this simple visual cue can convey a large quantity of information to the audience. It could convey the physical location of the story by placing identifiable buildings in the background or the economic status of the society in the narrative or even the time period that the story is set in. By applying the concepts put forward by Suvin to analyze the novums of Architecture in Science Fiction movies we can begin to see alternative approaches to Architecture that would evolve in different (fictional) worlds, as a response to the social and cultural needs and aspirations of that society. This section of the dissertation will look at a few remarkable efforts of creating a fictional architectural framework to supplement the narrative of a story, stories, such as; the dystopian ‘Blade Runner’, the fantastical ‘Tron’, ‘Black Panther’, and the Utopian story of ‘Her’.
4.2.1 Blade Runner Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is a 1982 Science Fiction film loosely based on Philip K. Dicks’ novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ It has amused Science Fiction fans and moviegoers alike, for almost four decades now. The film has many influences from other Science Fiction films, games, anime and television series.
Figure 11: Hades Landscape – Los Angeles 2019 (Scott, 1982)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 The themes discussed in the world of blade runner draw inspiration from movies like Metropolis (Lang, 1927) where the Architecture played a massive role in establishing the dualities of economic inequalities as well as themes like the Prometheus of man creating life, like those discussed in Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818) The film addressed a myriad of contemporary issues under the guise of a dystopian world. From overpopulation, decentralization, climate change, genetic engineering to the surveillance of ordinary people. All these factors can be seen reflected in the urban fabric of 2019’s Los Angeles. The establishing shot of the Los Angeles of 2019 is one of most iconic scenes in the movie as it establishes the world of Blade Runner (Figure 11). A world of perpetual rain and gloom with grey skies hint to an unstable climate suggesting global climate change, the overpopulated streets of Los Angeles filled with mostly Latino and Asian migrants speaking different languages suggests an economic disparity. The wealthy have moved out of the inner-city into the “off-world” colonies and the cities are left to the lower class immigrant workers flooding the streets that can’t afford to escape the problems of the city. The urban visuals of this world is overpowered by large screens playing advertisements of large corporations such as ‘Coca-Cola’, ‘Pan Am’, ‘Atari’ (all cognitive brands) and the ‘Tyrell Corporation’ (an estranged one) and repeated advertisements to move to the ‘off worlds’ suggesting a ‘super consumer culture’ where citizens are encouraged to leave the planet itself with the promise of a free replicant and a world free of inner-city problems . Right from the opening scene of Blade Runner, we see the dystopian narrative of the film portrayed by the estrangement of the world with its futuristic technologies and Architecture as a regular occurrence. ‘Deckard’ the lead character in the story continues to eat his meal within the flying police car, a sense of normalcy is established letting the audience know that this is a normal occurrence in the film’s universe. The film features various iconic buildings such as, the Bradbury Building (Wyman, 1893) , Union Station (Burnham, 1907) , Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House (Wright, 1924) and Bonaventure Hotel (Portman, 1976)each to depict a different narrative in the story. The Bradbury Building for instance, a popular building for Hollywood movies, lends itself to Blade Runner as the toymaker’s house. The Building itself is inspired by a Utopian 42
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Science Fiction Novel published in 1888 Called ‘Looking Backwards’. The book described the interiors of the first twentieth-century public building that the protagonist visits. It is described as having a hall full of light, a dome – hundred feet above, frescos on the walls and ceilings and windows on all sides (Bellamy, 1888). The set for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis house too (a prime example of Mayan Revival Architecture) is full of rich history and background. These real-world architectural elements help convey the narrative of the movie because of the embodied architectural characteristics of the spaces. The visual aesthetic of the urban environment, on the other hand, is one that projects the fear of Japan’s economic progress at the time of the movie as an inevitable convergence of cultures. Syd Mead, the concept artist of the film, is responsible for the iconic visuals in the movie that capture the landscape of “Hong Kong on bad day” (Wheale, 1995). Historically, the dystopian film did not fare well at the box-office financially due to heavy competition from Steven Spielberg’s ‘ET’ (Gray, 2017), people did not want to confront an already grim reality through a movie about dystopia, corporate power, oppression and further challenging concepts of conscience and morality. But as the years have passed by the film has gained more relevance in an ever-changing world with increasing political and environmental unrest.
4.2.2 TRON The 2010 film ‘Tron Legacy’(Kosinski, 2010), a sequel to the 1982 film ‘Tron’(Lisberger, 1982), explores a virtual world created by ‘Kevin Flynn’, a computer programmer and father to the movie's protagonist. Though TRON doesn’t truly fit within the boundaries of Science Fiction, it is an excellent case study in the art of world building. The movie is set between two different worlds, the real one and the virtual one and in both of them, light is the dominating visual element. The virtual world evolves by creating a parallel universe within a simulation; this involves creating new environments and evolving technology within these environments.
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Figure 12: Tron Legacy – Establishing shot (Kosinski, 2010)
The Architecture of ‘Tron’ relies on a novum created to achieve this alternative universe. There are no natural sources of light in the digital universe of ‘Tron’, and this is clearly represented in the Architecture of the spaces. The spaces in the movie are almost exclusively lit up by artificial LED Lights and even in the technology and clothes worn by humans and humanoids. It is almost like the lights in ‘Tron’ are not use for illuminating the surface but rather to simply wash the surface with light hence allowing for the object to be gently be acknowledged. With the absence of any natural light sources, artificial light is used in the form of a material or in the way colour is used in the real world (Patt, 2017). The architectural aesthetic of the film is inspired by microchips, and so is the visual aesthetic of the costumes and vehicles in the Tron world. Another inspiration that the virtual world has taken from the real world is the Architecture of totalitarian governments. The film's antagonist, Clu is a dictator that controls the universe of Tron and to represent this the Film employs the novum of Architecture inspired from computer chips and combines this with the real-world aesthetic of soviet brutalitarian concrete Architecture.(Lambie, 2010) Joseph Kosinski, the director of the movie Tron Legacy, comes from an architectural background. He uses basic architectural concepts like lines and patterns infused with an estranging novum of light to create lines of light that turn into physical elements in the fictional world of Tron. The look of Tron is described as “Dark silhouetted objects bathed in atmosphere…where the dominant light source is the self-lighting of things… that is the Tron Lines”. (Patt, 2017) 44
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 The doyen of minimalism, Mies van der Rohe’s minimalist style was the guiding architectural light for Tron legacy. It gave the movie a sense of restraint. In 1982 the restraint was due to technological limits in rendering but in 2018 restraint is an art. In a world where CGI enables almost anything that the director wishes to appear on screen it can be easy to get carried away with throwing everything into the frame, instead, Kosinski makes minimalism an aesthetic choice.(Karlin, 2010) Tron gives us an idea of how a world without natural light might go about designing a built environment, using artificial light sources to add materiality to objects and surfaces rather than simply illuminate them.
4.2.3 Black Panther In 1966, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two Jewish Newyorkers created the character of Black Panther for Marvel comics as a superhero that black comic book fans could identify with. Marvel came out with the comic book roughly the same time the black panther party was founded. To avoid confusion and connotations with the black panther party, Marvel comics briefly tried the name Black Leopard but eventually returned to the original name Black Panther.(Mitchell, 2018) Ryan Coogler’s vision of Black Panther is one that emerged amongst tensions in the African American community against discrimination and racially charged evens in America. However, this resulted in a visual aesthetic that seemed to empower a west African architectural identity rather than the African American identity. As intentional as this may be, Wakanda has successfully created a vision for a balance between modern and traditional architectural typology for Sub Saharan Africa. Black Panther comes from a director that is capable of turning a Hollywood movie about a fictional nation to function as an agent for many black Americans to store some of their most deeply held dreams and aspirations. The mythology of Wakanda put together with the fact that most black Americans had never in fact been to Africa caused many in the black American community to deeply connect with the movie.
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Figure 13: Black Panther -Wakanda, Establishing Shot (Coogler, 2018)
The world of Wakanda uses the Afro-Futuristic style of world building, designed by production designer Hannah Beachler. Afro-Futurism is an artistic movement that is decidedly a black creation, intended to push beyond the boundaries of the white imagination (Wallace, 2018). Afro-Futurism according to many has been an attempt to imagine what would have been of Africa if it hadn’t been pillaged and abused over the centuries. As director Ava DuVernay puts it “what if they didn’t come… and what if they didn’t take us? What would have been?”, these are the kind of questions the Afro-Futurist style in its most basic form attempts to answer.(Wallace, 2018) The visual aesthetic and Architecture of Wakanda are based on its fictional backstory, a land rich in ‘vibranium’ a highly sought-after rare metal that is only found in the vibranium mines in Wakanda, making it one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Wakanda portrays itself to the rest of the world as another sub-Saharan African country rich in tradition but struck by poverty and refuses to involve itself in world trade and international politics to keep their vibranium mines and technology a secret and avoid unnecessary conflict with other nations. Culturally, Wakanda is a society rooted in tradition and heavily invested up by social values. The presence of vibranium has led them to be technologically advanced in comparison to their western counterparts. This leads to the style of Architecture portrayed in the film. The intention of Hannah Beachler and her production team was not to create a realistic depiction of what a technologically advanced and financially privileged African
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 country would look like, instead, the aesthetic of the Architecture is meant to convey as much information possible about the type of society Wakanda is. Amidst a racially charged political dialogue in the United States, Black Panther comes in a time of social activism like the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and several other attempts to empower the African American community in America using a simple novum of a place forgotten in time amongst the many abused, wronged and mistreated that was given the opportunities and resources that the rest weren’t fortunate enough to receive. It is remarkable that the use of a novum as simple as wealth, with the right tone, can result in inspirational forms that may go on to establish a realistic and viable architectural aesthetic.
4.2.4 Her
Figure 14: ‘Her’ - Utopian Los Angeles (Jonze, 2014)
In complete contrast to the dystopian Los Angeles of 2019 portrayed in Blade Runner, ‘Her’ hosts a delightfully welcomed change in a genre obsessed with dark and distressing dystopias by presenting the future Los Angeles as a Utopia. But like Herman Kahn’s paradox of a ‘surprise free world’12 (Kahn and Weiner, 1967), a Utopia can very easily turn into a dull world with no surprises.
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A surprise Free World is one where the greatest surprise would be the accurate arrival of the Surprise Free World itself.
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Figure 15: Spike Jonez's Los Angeles (Burman, 2014)
The future Los Angeles portrayed in ‘Her’ is one free of traffic and pollution. It is populated with eighty story high skyscrapers, and colour lead cinematic visual aesthetic. Production designer K.K. Barrett along with director Spike Jonez spliced together shots of the Los Angeles cityscape along with footage of Shanghai’s ultra-modern Pudong District. One of the most radical visions for Los Angeles of the future was one of a city without cars. In Jonze’s vision, inhabitants of future Los Angeles are shown using the bullet trains, taking the subway and walking. The whole novum of ‘Her’ is based on technology developing to an extent where you don’t see it anymore. (Curbed, 2013) This is again reflected in the visual depiction of the new AI-powered operating system that the protagonist installs. The design team decided that there would be no remarkable visual difference of this operating system because it would be so well designed that it would have no visual impact on the user’s interface, instead, it would just be a seamless integration of a voice that effortlessly flows through a ‘plain vanilla earbud’. (Hart, 2013) Another feature that is seen throughout the cityscape of high rise towers is the thriving parks on rooftops and a clean atmosphere. The green roofs coupled along with the car-free cityscape shows a vision of the future where efforts to achieve such tremendous sustainability have succeeded, not only in terms of public infrastructure but also in terms of public consciousness about sustainability. (Curbed, 2013) However, regardless of all the technological advances and leaps in urban design, planning and Architecture, throughout the film, one can’t help but get a feeling of gloom 48
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 and dullness amongst a beautiful cityscape of curvatious buildings filled with vibrant colours, fabrics, and textures. ‘There’s no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it.’ – (Little, 1904). ‘Her’ is not only a movie on how someone might find love in the future, but it is also a commentary on how one will live in the future and addresses the inner-city problems of today's bustling metropolises with a vision of what is expected of the future. The in-between is what is left to be imagined, like the solutions that lead to a car-free society with no pollution or the program that made rooftop gardens a staple to every skyscraper in Los Angeles.
4.3 Application in Contemporary Architecture “Reading fiction is the act of asserting and dealing with the feeling of estrangement that results from being human” (Stevens, 2012), The concepts of Science Fiction extend beyond literature to any narrative-based form of design. Any design that requires the use of a narrative to communicate a story to the user can benefit from the approach employed by Science Fiction. Understanding the logic that governs the traditional design and redefines it, gives the designer control over the interpretation of the design. Architecture is no different from this, the aim of an architect is to create remarkable spaces, spaces with transformative capabilities, spaces that tell a story. Architecture must strive to shift the perception of the user from the chaotic and problematic world around them into an engaging narrative, even if this narrative is dark, weird or complicated. The same reasons that draw readers to Science Fiction will create curiosity towards these architectural forms and makes the process of exploring the Architecture more fulfilling once the under realizes the underlying novum behind the design. This section of the dissertation aims to analyze three remarkable contemporary architectural projects by leading architects in different parts of the world designed at different times, identify the novum that sets them apart and the consequences on the spatial quality of the Architecture and its narrative.
4.3.1 The Jewish Museum (The Dark) Berlin 49
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Daniel Libeskind
Figure 16: Jewish Museum photo by Gunter Schneider
Opened in 2001, the museum is designed to embody the memory and trauma of the victims of a horrible tragedy13. Libeskind’s museum is an expression of the German – Jewish history, structured into a narrative of uncomfortable spaces using unnatural angles and avoiding air conditioners. The Architecture of the museum tries to avoid any semblance of conventional design that imparts a sense of comfort and familiarity. Instead, it tries to disengage the user from the outside world, set them on to journey where they may learn and empathize with the suffering and trauma experienced by the millions of victims that the museum commemorates. One of the critical factors in designing the museum was Libeskind’s understanding that it is impossible to comprehend the history of Berlin without acknowledging the enormous contributions made to Berlin by its Jewish citizens, this would then help translate the erasure and void of Berlins Jewish life into form (Libeskind and Binet, 1999).
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The Holocaust was a genocide during World War II that resulted in the systemic murder of six million Jews.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 According to Libeskind, the right angle is a product of spiritual history and tectonics. In terms of spiritual history, the right angle is only relevant in specific spiritual history, and when that history is not relevant anymore, neither is what was right (Libeskind and Binet, 1999). The concept of the right angle also has much to do with the etymology of the word through language, says Libeskind. English and German amongst other languages associate the word ‘right’ with wrong, as a metaphor of the conditions we operate within. In the context of ‘Tectonics’, the right angle is simply a product of building construction. Libeskind says that the right angle has its basis in the original geometry derived from the ancient Egyptian practice of land surveying, as a means of dividing land and nothing to do with aesthetics; so changing the ‘original geometry’, as it may easily have been, by simply looking into a different state, “we would find ourselves in a completely different geometrical, social and economic world” (Libeskind and Binet, 1999). Rectangular design is a product of tectonics and construction, instilled in the masses as a norm and hence, has come to be associated with comfortable space.
Figure 17: Sketch of Jewish Museum – Projection Elevation Study (Libeskind, 1990)
It is through tradition that humans have come to associate rectangular design as a norm of built environments. Historically aesthetic spatial-form came in all shapes, round 51
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 stupas of the Buddhist, the stepped ziggurats of the Mayas or the pyramidal tombs of the Egyptians. These were the holy shapes, but then the arrival and spread of the Greek ideal of orders and design aesthetic shifted this original geometry of design to be derivatives of the right angle. Libeskind challenges this notion of traditional design by creating his own original geometry and forces the user through irregular spaces to achieve his narrative.
Figure 18: Garden of Exile - Jewish Museum Berlin (Teicher, 2016)
Rather than simply changing the ‘original geometry’, Libeskind challenges the ideas of normality of form. A great example of this is the E.T.A. Hoffmann garden. It represents an amalgamation of Libeskind’s various ways of completely disorienting the visitor put together to form a space that represents the order of Berlin after having a part of its history completely erased from memory. The E.T.A. Hoffmann Garden represents what is described by many to be a ‘shipwreck’ of history (Libeskind and Binet, 1999). Built on an unevenly sloped surface, the columns manage to stand straight and firm. The structures are positioned to form a square, the only geometrical shape in the entire museum representing the incredible resilience of the citizens of Berlin to be able to stand up to everything thrown at them. An undeniable theme in the Architecture of the Jewish Museum is the intention to make the visitor uncomfortable. The novum established is that rectangular design is the norm and breaking the norm will take visitors out of their comfort zone and allow them to appreciate the normalcy in their lives and appreciate the suffering of the Jewish community
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 in Berlin. Once this novum is understood and well established, every single design decision is informed by it. Novum – Redefining the original geometry to stray from right angles.
4.3.2 Heydar Aliyev centre (The weird) Baku, Azerbaijan Zaha Hadid
Figure 19: Heydar Aliyev Centre (Wyss, n.d.)
Zaha Hadid is arguably one of the most well-known contemporary architects. The Zaha Architecture has an unmistakable identity in the way the forms contort and flow into one another to make up the Zaha brand. There is a clear philosophy of fluidity that Hadid’s Architecture employs and the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is a prime example of this philosophy in practice. As a former part of the Soviet Union, the Architecture and planning of Baku were heavily influenced by the planning and architectural legacy imprinted by the Soviet Era. After its independence in 1991, Azerbaijan intended to break from the rigid monumental characteristics of the Soviet Architecture to establish Azerbaijan’s arrival into the modern era. (Betsky, 2018) Following a competition held in 2007, Zaha Hadid Architects were awarded the design for the centre, a building whose objective was to become the primary example of the sensibilities of Azerbaijan’s vision to look into the future.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 The intention of the design was to create a fluid form that evolves from the folding of the site itself. The fluid form remains as a single unbroken skin folding into one another and finally merging into the landscape. In the case of Zaha Hadid, rather than looking at individual design philosophies of selected buildings in isolation one must look at her design philosophy as a whole. The fluidity of forms only appears in Zaha’s works post her 1990 Vitra Fire station, before that her projects employed sharp angles and lines. Though Zaha’s works have evolved visibly in terms of form from steep angles, the philosophy that makes her work unique has remained relatively the same.(Betsky, 2018) Zaha Hadid’s vision for creating spaces is heavily influenced by the medium of film. She sees cinematic techniques such as close-ups and slow-motion not as something that merely reveals what was not once visible but rather as techniques that reveal entirely unknown qualities of space. A completely different nature reveals itself once the “unconsciously penetrated space is substituted for a space consciously explored by men” (Walter Benjamin quoted in Betsky, 2018) Aaron Betskey regards Hadid as a great cinematographer who captures the latent motions of the urban environment and stitches them together into storyboards of her perceived Utopia. “ Her buildings are intensifications that lead to extensions” (Betsky, 2018) In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Hadid claims that she does not make “nice little buildings” and shares her views on rectangular design. In Hadid’s opinion, the rectangular form is only the most efficient way to organize furniture; this is probably due to the predisposition of the furniture industry to create furniture that is meant to go into rectangular spaces. Zaha Hadid’s buildings are built around a completely different organizational pattern that allows her to resist the normalcy of design that is based on a rectangular organizational pattern. (Brooks, 2013) Zaha Hadid’s continual pursuit of resisting rectangular design is her architectural novum. The design philosophy that justifies the explosions of spaces that she creates. Unlike Libeskind’s approach of challenging the normalcy of rectangular design to invoke a sense of discomfort, Zaha Hadid uses this novum to achieve quite the opposite; she resists the
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 traditional organizational structure of design to prove that since almost nothing in nature is rectangular why should architectural forms be any different? (Brooks, 2013) Novum – Resisting rectangular design
4.3.3 Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia (The complicated) Barcelona, Spain Antoni Gaudí
Figure 20: Roof of Sagrada Familia (SBA73, 2011)
“I am a geometrician, meaning I synthesise.” A. Gaudi quoted in Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Família (Burry, 1993)
The vision of an architect that will eventually have taken over a century to achieve is the symphony of complexity that is the Sagrada Familia. Designed by Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudi and located in Barcelona, the mammoth of architectural design stands a foot shorter than the highest peak of Barcelona in order to respect the boundaries of nature. Gaudi was fully aware that the construction of the temple would exceed his lifespan and hence, wanted to plan the construction of the Sagrada Familia in stages and modules. The first one of these modules would be the apse and the nativity façade of the temple.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Gaudi saw flaws in the contemporary Gothic structural system14 and hence, aimed to create a new typology of Architecture that employed self-supporting structures to support themselves. These constructional solutions were refined in his workshop where he experimented and innovated various solution to the structural problems that he came across. Gaudi worked almost obsessively with tectonic scale models of different components of the temple in his office. The Sagrada Familia was and still is one of the largest testing grounds for innovating construction technologies in the world. The temple has pushed the boundaries of technological capabilities of contemporary design as well as tectonic solutions and forced them to constantly innovate.(“Geometry - Sagrada Familia Foundation,� n.d.) The complexity conceived in Gaudi’s mind gave rise to challenges that even exceeded solutions provided by construction technology available to him at the time the project was undertaken to the point where after a century, architects and engineers have resorted to cutting-edge computational design software and fabrication technology to do justice to the original design intent. Gaudi had two main inspirations for his designs; the divine message from his Cristian Faith and the rules of nature. Gaudi noticed the connection between natural forms and geometry early on and took these observations from the natural world as inspirations to create forms and develop solutions to the challenges in his work. He combined Geometric forms with naturally occurring complex forms like hyperboloids, paraboloids, helicoids, ellipsoids, double-twisted columns and conoids. All these geometries were designed with nature being their driving force. Gaudi would spend much of his time experimenting with inverted models hung from his ceiling with chains and strings to develop catenary structures that could be graphically calculated. These techniques allowed Gaudi to develop revolutionary ideas such as, leaning columns that branch out like trees in a forest. Gaudi also developed a system of proportions that he applied to all the dimensions of different modules of the Sagrada Familia; he would repeatedly use simple ratios based on factors of twelve to provide proportions of the tectonic elements of the design of the temple, such as the sizes of the columns, windows , openings and vaults. Since rectangular geometry is almost never found in the natural order of geometries, he never bothered with
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The Gothic style featured predominantly in churches and institutions of authority are infamous for failure in buttresses and arches due to lateral instability.(Theodossopoulos, 2007)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 them. Much like the principles of Islamic Architecture and patterns, Gaudi saw a spiritual aspect of the geometric proportions based in natural forms.
Figure 21: Natural Inspirations for Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia Foundation, n.d.)
Gaudi took the contemporary Gothic style and added into this, a Novum grounded in spirituality and nature to create something uniquely Catalonian, a personalized style that cannot be categorized with any other. Rather than treat his architectural creations as a sign of defiance or triumph, Gaudi celebrates the natural form using pure unadulterated geometric interpretations of nature, a divine form that could be translated into a space that was larger than Gaudi himself. Novum – Following geometrical organisations found in nature.
4.3.4 Exercise Conclusion Three different architects at different points in time with different functions and locations have designed completely unique buildings using the same estranging quality, ‘resisting rectangular design’. The design of almost every building ever created is designed with rectangular design as the guiding principle, but the three projects take this fundamental ‘truth’ of Architecture and distort it to provide three completely different narratives in their Architecture. It is this estranging quality driving the creation of these spaces that make the Architecture remarkable and add the wholeness of the architectural narrative. These spaces transport their users to another world, one completely detached from the outside world, and that is the true purpose of Architecture; to achieve the functionality of the space whilst still maintaining a unique identity. To improve human life and create a timeless, free, joyous spaces for all activities in life. Even though there can be infinite variations in the functionality of these spaces they must derive the sensibilities as nature does in creating forms. (John Lautner Quoted in Hess et al., 1999) 57
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Chapter 5 – Anti-Mimesis in Architecture 5.1 Mimesis and Anti-Mimesis “The process of determining ‘Mimesis’ and ‘Anti-Mimesis’ to justify the motives of movies (or art) is a redundant exercise as ‘in a pervasive game of mirrors reflecting each other; art imitates life, life imitates art, art imitates art and life imitates life” -(Baudrillard, 2010) Jean Baudrillard was one of the most influential post-modern theorists, who regularly commented on works of fiction and cinema, particularly American cinematic fiction. Baudrillard is seen as a pioneer of French postmodern theory through his combination of social theory and philosophy in unique ways as well as developing a distinctive writing style. He also commented prolifically on changes in the ways that media and information are consumed, as well as the impact of digital technology on the formation of new social orders leading to mutations of social interactions amongst humans15. During Baudrillard’s shift from economic theory to technology and mass communication he began commenting on premodern, modern and postmodern societies. (Purdue University, 2011) On the topic of postmodern societies, Baudrillard says that they are organized around a simulation. By simulation, Baudrillard is referring to the idea that society simulates reality as seen in film and TV. According to Baudrillard, the current culture that consumes Science Fiction has come to appreciate the fiction over the real. This representation is what he calls the ‘simulacra’, a hyperreality where the audience has lost its ability to tell the difference between the real and the simulation. (Hegarty, 2008) “Baudrillard claims that henceforth the masses seek spectacle and not meaning” (Ritzer, 2008)
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Baudrillard’s body of work spans a period of over five decades and without doubt the topics he worked on shifted along the years. Though he eventually switched from commenting on economic theory to technology, he would always come back the concepts of simulation and simulacra and its effects on the postmodern condition. (Purdue University, 2011)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 This makes the perfect case for why creators of art and media must pay more attention to the consequences of their design. In the postmodern world, we live in media and fiction have a far greater impact than what they have ever had in the history of humanity. Nathan Shedroff in his book ‘Make it so: interaction design lessons from Science Fiction’ compiles various lessons contemporary designers can learn from the constraint-free design of Science Fiction interfaces. One such lesson is from a Motorola cellular device, the MicroTAC. (Shedroff and Noessel, 2012) The MicroTAC was a cellular phone first manufactured in 1980 by the telecommunication company Motorola. The phone was meant to be a state-of-the-art device with an innovative design for the mouthpiece that flipped down. However, when the phone was released, it wasn’t well received. This failure baffled the MicroTAC Figure 22: A MicroTAC 9800X (Padluck, 2007)
designers who could not understand why a welldesigned futuristic device failed in the market.
To understand what went wrong the Motorola designers took the phone to the Argonne National Laboratory (A.N.L.) for their advice. The engineers at A.N.L. immediately pointed out an inherent flaw in the design of the phone and said they had made the phone the wrong way. Rather than open down, the mouthpiece ought to open upwards like the communication device used on Star Trek.
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Figure 23: Star Trek Phone (Gene, 1966)
This revelation lead to the Motorola StarTAC, the first ever clamshell/flip mobile phone in 1996. The phone was an immediate success selling approximately 60 million devices. In a demonstration of Baudrillian simulacrum, life had once again imitated art as it will always do. Science Fiction can have enormous impacts on the way design is perceived, be it industrial design or Architecture. In the field of Architecture, Archigram has served the same purpose that speculative Science Fiction has served for various ideas (Anderson, n.d.). For instance, the Pompidou centre in Paris, France, one of the most important and influential post world war monuments of Architecture has been applauded for its innovative use of building services into its facade and the idea of not shunning and hiding service elements within the building. Another aspect of this inversion is that it allows for mare functionally usable space by freeing the floor spaces inside to be used for various exhibitions inside. The Pompidou centre express ideas of transparency and openness in support of the public's right to protest and express their opinions within a safe space in a square.(Hegarty, 2008) However, in a case of life imitating art, an anti-mimesis in architectural took place with the concepts explored in the designs philosophy of the Pompidou centre. Rogers and Piano took cues of inspiration from the doyens of cultural criticism in the world of Architecture, Archigram. (Barrell, 2016)
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Figure 24: Pompidou Centre (Barrell, 2016)
Figure 25: Archigram – Plugin City (Cook, 1964)
The Architecture of the Pompidou centre of the 70’s is an homage to and manifestations of the incredible visions created by the mavericks at archigram. In the 60’s. Apart from the Pompidou centre, archigram has gone ahead to inspire numerous architects and designers as well as movements in Architecture and design such as the visual aesthetic of Blobism inspired by archigram’s vision for walking cities, instant cities and the Sin Centre. What archigram did in creating memes of unbuildable projects is clear out space for what one-day conceptual technology will eventually enable, and this is what all Architecture must attempt to embody, to inspire original thought and emotion.(Hegarty, 2008)
5.2 Trends in Architecture 61
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 “Effective prediction is a sketch of large, inexorable forces, Necessary to construct what in the 1960s was called the SFW – the Surprise-Free World. What the world would look like if all the dominating trends continued.” -Charles Jencks (Jencks, 1971b)
Charles Jencks’s 1971 book ‘Architecture 2000’ was the author’s first solo book, a first of more than twenty-four works not including those that he edited or co-edited.(Haddad, 2009) ‘Architecture 2000 – Predictions and Methods’ begins with a commentary on the past and the contemporary. From understanding the past, the book moves towards identifying future trends and making predictions based on what Jencks calls ‘inexorable trends’. According to Jencks, these trends are driven by six major architectural traditions that remain more or less autonomous.
Figure 26: Structural Diagram 1920-2000 (Jencks, 1971)
Trends in architecture tend to stabilize around a common core. (Figure 27) Jencks also proposes a ‘Model for teleological development’ - a five-stage process through which an intention in the mind of the architect or designer goes on to achieve fruition. through Figure 27: Model of teleological development (Jencks, 1971)
which an intention in the mind of the architect or designer goes on to achieve fruition. The first
step according to Jencks is the conception of an intention of a final goal in the mind of the architect or designer. The designer then would survey the possible solutions and build up various models to substantiate his claim, further, with or without luck the designer would have to create, invent or discover a new solution to the problem he is trying to address. This
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 solution will then compete with other solutions, continue a process of refinement and perfection and will be ultimately evaluated both for its good and bad consequences. Figure 28: Evolutionary Tree to the year 2000 (Jencks, 1971)
5.2.1 The printing press and Architecture “One shall destroy the other”16 - (Hugo, 1831) In a video essay titled “The next era of Architecture”, Evan Puschak discusses the historical trends in Architecture and the prophecy made in the ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ where Hugo says, “the book will kill the edifice”. He points out to chapter II, book V in the ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’ to the point where victor Hugo pauses the narrative to draw the reader’s attention to Figure 29: Drawing of the Hunchback of Notre Dame (Merson, 1846)
the ancient significance of Architecture. Hugo speaks about the tradition of cultures
16
“Other” in the title of the chapter in the Hunchback of Notre Dame points towards the Notre Dame Cathedral. This has been debated to imply “religion”, but the cathedral is the architectural embodiment of the religion, a grandiose monument to celebrate religion.
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 inscribing their stories by joining stones to form words and how eventually they wrote books. Architecture has historically evolved with human thought to the point where the thoughts were no longer scribed in stone and rather written in books.(Hugo discussed by Puschak, 2014) Hugo believed that architecture had now come to a point where architects could not create anything new. According to Hugo the coinciding of the Gothic period with the invention of the printing press would mark the Gothic style as a point of impasse in architecture. For centuries, Architecture was the language of human civilisation, “the great handwriting of the human race� as Hugo puts it, but the advent of the printing press made it cheaper and easier to communicate this language (Puschak, 2014).In the past, the identity of a society was expressed in stone. A durable material that could only be dislodged through large natural events. The further back in time we go the larger these expressions seem to be. From the Egyptian pyramids to the Taj Mahal, every one of these architectural monuments is an expression of power and grandeur by the ruler commissioning it, and rulers they all were. As we come closer to the present in the timeline of human expression we see the need for self-expression spreads to the masses, leading to rapidly changing styles of selfexpression through architecture. And as theorized by Hugo, the printing press was the ultimate form of self-expression at the time. Books were far more powerful than stone. A building can be brought down with an earthquake, but books were made up of ideas, and an idea is impossible to demolish. Now, as technology has advanced leading into the digital age, accessibility to different media of communication has increased exponentially, more so with the introduction of the internet. Individuals no longer need to invest fortunes to imprint their identities on stone; instead, they can express themselves instantly through social media. Hugo feared the ease of communication and accessibility to the masses that books would provide. His fears were not of the book killing off architecture but technology diminishing literature, the literature of past written in stone or the literature of Hugo’s time, written in books.
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Figure 30: Timeline of Internet Penetration, ((Graham and Straumann, 2014) (Data Source: : World Bank’s Worldwide Development Indicators Project)
This increase in accessibility of communication and exchange of thought, has reduced the relevance of Architecture or the relevance of architectural styles in which a society would collectively invest in. In the past, the utilitarian purpose of Architecture was a minimum requirement of the built environment but now, expression through Architecture usually ends at this utilitarian purpose of sheltering the occupants from the elements and aiding the functions within. Jencks’s model of ‘Teleological development’ (Figure 26) enforces a methodology in which steps two and three (Intention of goal and model prepared) are in the hands of the designer to the most part, but in step four (diffusion + selective influences), selective pressures influence the hand of the designer to obey the norm. Modernism was the first of the architectural trends to achieve this. The “less is more” philosophy spear headed by minimalist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe gave the world an inkling of what is to be expected of Architecture. Post Modernism attempted to revive the embellishments of Architecture by bringing back the ornamentation. However, the rise of the digital age has rendered any excess in design to be a luxury, reserved for the one percent of the previliged population of the world.
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Figure 31: Architecture epochs (Voorthuis, 2008)
Analysing the duration of architectural epochs over the past millennia (Figure 31), it can be seen that over the years the duration of the architectural epochs has reduced rapidly. Styles that would last centuries reduced to decades and now are a few years long.
5.2.2 Architecture in the age of pluralism As the epochs of styles in Architecture have grown shorter over the decades, the current trend in Architecture has resulted in one of pluralism. This is abundantly evident from contemporary icons of Architecture by architects such as Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Norman foster and other architects that are iconic in their standing, there is no architectural style. Charles Jencks in his article for the Architecture review called “In what style shall we build?” writes about trends in Architecture in response to ‘Farshid Moussavi’s’ 2014 book, ‘The function of style’. Jencks says in the favour of adopting pluralism, “The strongest reason to support pluralism is that great Architecture like great art deals with a myriad of opposite values which it attempts to confront and present if not always reconcile; multivalent or deep art is always a measure of this quality.”- (Jencks, 2015)
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Sanjay Somanath 4313018 Jencks compares pluralism in Architecture to food by comparing its appeal to the appeal of variety as observed in food. Rather than “ground styles and the aesthetic appearance of buildings in the micropolitics of everyday�(Moussavi, 2014), Jencks celebrates the ability of the architect to acknowledge social complexities and design spaces by adapting to these complexities. No one style must be expected to satisfy the wants of a multi-cultural global society rather we must embrace the pluralism in the designs around us just as we celebrate the pluralism of the society around us (Jencks, 2015). As the capability of personal expression increases so will the pluralism in styles of architecture and design.
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Conclusion
Figure 32: Dissertation Network Diagram (Author, 2018)
The topics discussed in this dissertation range from a broad domain of ideas. By establishing Science fiction as a valid tool for social commentary through the values of critical theory, SciFi and Sci-Fi Architecture can be seen as credible visions of society’s aspirations and issues. It is more than just a means to entertain the audience. This dissertation has demonstrated the predictive abilities of science fiction and also the effect it can have on real-world events. On further exploring concepts of Sci-Fi; the dissertation employs the concepts of a Utopia and Dystopia to emphasise the value of science fiction as a tool to interpret social issues and drive urban discourse. The value of sci-fi concepts like cognitive estrangement is demonstrated in creating architecture. This shows that the creative process is one of interoperability. The processes of science fiction perfectly apply to architecture and can further be extended to any creative design process. Identifying a ‘novum’ to distinguish design helps the designer make a 68
Sanjay Somanath 4313018 wholesome argument for the logic followed in the design process, resulting in a richer design.
Figure 33: Feedback mechanism of hyperreality. (Author, 2018)
The architecture that is produced collectively contributes to the hyperreality. The feedback to this hyperreality comes in the form of Science Fiction; if the feedback cycle is not addressed by correcting the errors made in contemporary Architecture, the errors flow back into the hyperreality (Figure 33). It is a cycle of mimesis and anti-mimesis that determines trends in Architecture. Positive responses result in positive trends, and negative responses result in negative ones. In the past, self-expression was a privilege; available to those with means, and they expressed themselves with monumental Architecture. However, as the cost of selfexpression through Architecture no longer was feasible, the masses shifted to a more economical means of self-expression. Science Fiction fills the void left in Architecture by the advent of the printing press, coupled with the internet and social media, as they are a more convenient and efficient form of self-expression. It helps us to achieve what traditional Architecture does not allow us. Through Sci-Fi, we can experience our aspirations and goals and dream of an architecture that may never be achieved.
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Research Limitation The research aimed at exploring the relationships between popular media (science fiction genre in particular) and Architecture. The scope of this research is quite vast and fairly scattered. There are various philosophers and social commentators active in the field of Architecture, but there is no definite consensus on the relationship between Architecture and science fiction beyond the aesthetic value that science fiction introduces into Architecture. This dissertation has attempted to address all the points made in the broad field of science fiction literature as a social commentary and what it means to different people as well as Architecture and its relationship to society. In doing so, the dissertation explores deep-rooted connections within the social constructs of Architecture and science fiction and ends with a more substantial connection to literature and Architecture and how science fiction fills the void left in Architecture with the advent of mass publication and its evolution into the internet and social media as a more efficient form of self-expression. However, there isn’t any definitive secondary quantitative data available that proves this with over a significant period. Hence the research was limited to the data available over a scattered period and remains quite brief.
Further Research The possibilities of further research in the field or Architecture and its relationship with film and popular culture and are endless. However, a more focused approached directed in determining the effect of media and mass communication on Architecture concerning economic value of Architecture over the years would help confirm the hypothesis that the decline in societies investment in Architecture is due to accessibility to more durable and economic forms or personal expression. This future research would involve obtaining reliable quantitative data the successfully correlates the connection in Victor Hugo’s claim on the relationship of Architecture and print media, taking the study further into the present and updating it with more clear depictions of contemporary forms of selfexpression such as the internet and social media. The study would also benefit through the addition of a broader view into post-modern philosophical theories on social media and its effect on the traditional arts by the likes of Jean-Francois Lyotard. 70
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List of Movies and TV Shows Brooker, C., 2011. Black Mirror. Cameron, J., 1984. Terminator. Čapek, K., 1921. R.U.R. Coogler, R., 2018. Black Panther. Gene, R., 1966. Star Trek. Hughes, Allen, Hughes, Albert, 2010. The Book of Eli. Jonze, S., 2014. Her. Kosinski, J., 2010. TRON: Legacy. Kubrick, Stanley, 1968. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Lang, F., 1927. Metropolis. Lisberger, S., 1982. TRON. Proyas, A., 2004. I, Robot. Schlöndorff, V., 1990. The Handmaid’s Tale. Scott, R., 1982. Blade Runner. Spielberg, S., 2002. Minority Report. Villeneuve, D., 2017. Blade Runner 2049. Welles, O., 1962. The Trial. Zemeckis, R., 1985. Back to the Future.
List of Buildings Bonaventure Hotel – John C. Portman, Jr. Bradbury Building – George Wyman Ennis House - Frank Lloyd Wright Heydar Aliev Centre – Zaha Hadid Jewish Museum – Daniel Libeskind Sagrada Familia – Antoni Gaudi Union Station – John Parkinson Vitra Fire Station – Zaha Hadid Pompidou Center – Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano Sydney Opera House – Jørn Utzon 77
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Index
A Alsayyad, Nezar, 10, 27 Abandoned, 35, 36, 37 Abused, 15, 32, 44, 45 Africa, 44 Afro-Futurism, 44 AI, 14, 47 s Aladdin, 19 America, 18, 44, 45, 63, 64 Amis, Kingsley, 18 Anti-Mimesis, Iii, 10, 58 Archigram, Iv, 29, 30, 60, 61, 63 Architectural Aesthetic, 24, 43, 45 Architecture 2000, 62 Architecture and Science-Fiction Film, 38 Argonne National Laboratory, 59 Art-Deco, 15 Artificial Intelligence, 14 See AI Austrian, 7, 33 Azerbaijan, 53
B Back to The Future, 15 Baku, 53 Barcelona, 55 Bastardi, A., 21, 63 Baudrillard, Jean, 10, 26, 33, 58, 63 Baudrillian, 60 Beachler, Hannah , 44, 45 See Black Panther Behaviour, 7, 14, 16 Bellamy, Edward, 41, 63 Berlin, Iv, 50, 52, 64 Betskey, Aaron, 54 Beyond Architecture, 32 BIG, 28 Biometrics, 16 Black Mirror, 24, 25 Black Panther, Iii, 39, 43, 44, 45, 64 Blade Runner, Iii, Iv, 16, 17, 25, 39, 40, 41, 46 Blake, Peter, 26 Blish, James, Vi, 13, 15, 18, 63 Bohman, J. 13, 63 See Critical Theory Bonaventure Hotel, 42, 66 Bradbury Building, 42, 65 British, 7, 30, 31 Brooker, Charlie, 24 Built Environment, 8, 9, 28, 31, 32, 43
C Calvino, Italo, 27
ÄŒapek, Karel, 14
Carlin, George 23 CGI, 43 Chalk, Warren 30 See Archigram Chaotic Dystopia, 25 Cheshmehzangi, 28, 63 Cinematic, 27, 63 Cinematographer, 54 City, 7, 15, 17, 26, 36, 37, 39, 40, 47, 48, 62 Climate Change, 16, 40 Cognition, 20 Cognitive, 10, 18, 19, 28, 29, 36, 38, 41 Cognitive, Iii, 10, 19, 28, 37 Cognitive Estrangement, 10, 19 Cognitive Estrangement, Iii, 10, 28 Coleman, N., 21, 22, 26, 63 Concrete, 15, 24, 43 Consciousness, 48 Consumerism, 23, 25 Coogler, Ryan 44 See Black Panther Corbusier, Le, 24 Corporate Control, 25 Corporations, 13, 24, 40 Credentialing, 23 CRISPR, 13 Critical, 12, 13, 18, 63 Critical Theory, 12, 13, 14, 63 Criticism, 13, 18, 31, 33, 60 Culture, 12, 23, 25, 26, 28, 33, 41, 58
D Decentralization, 40 Deckard, 41, See Blade Runner Devastation, 35 Dicks, Phillip K. 11, 16, 38, 39 Dissertation, I, Vi, 9, 39, 49 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, 16 Dystopia, 9, 10, 25, 26, 34, 41 Dystopian, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 39, 40, 41, 46,
E Education, 23 Egyptian, 51 Emotion, 29, 61 Emotional, 38 Ennis House, 41 Establishing Shot, 25, 39, 40 Estrangement, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 34, 37, 41, 48, 64, See Cognitive Estrangement ET, 41
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Johnson, Philip 24 Jonze, Spike, 23 See Her
F
K
Fact, 10-12, 16, 18, 23, 26, 28, 31, 44 Failure, 23, 26, 59 Fantasy, 12, 19, 20 Fiction, 8-20, 23-25, 28-32, 34, 36, 38, 39, 42, 48, 58, 6064 Film, Vi, 8, 25, 26, 27, 28, 38, 39, 40-43, 45, 48, 54, 58 Forting, David T., 38 Frankenstein, 13, 40, 64 Fredric Jameson, 10 Freedman, Carl 13, 63 Functionality, 57 Futuristic, Vi, 12, 14, 15, 41, 59
K.K. Barrett, 47 Klanten, 32, 64 Kosinski, Joseph 44
G Gadgets, 16 Gaudi, Antoni 55, 56, 57, 64 Genetic Engineering, 40 Gentrification, 22 Gernsback, 18 Glass, 24 God, 13 Gothic, 55, 57
H Hadid, Zaha, 53, 54, See Hadid, Zaha Hawking, Stephen, 15 Health, 16, 64 Her, 23, 39, 46, 47, 48 Herman Kahn, 46 Heydar Aliyev Centre, Iii, 53 Hoffmann, E.T.A., 52 Hollywood, 41, 44 Home, 17, 38 Hong Kong, 41 Horkheimer, M., 13, 63 See Critical Theory Human Condition, 15, 16 Humanoids, 42
I Imitation Game, 14 Industrialisation, 15 Ingles, 28 Intelligent, 14 Island, 26
J Jack Kirby, 43 Jacobs, Jane 22, 23 Japan, 41 Jencks, Charles 62 Jewish, Iii, Iv, 43, 50, 51, 52, 64
L Lang, Fritz, 15, 17 Lee, Stan, 43 Libeskind, Daniel, 50, 51, 52, 54, 64, Light, 41, 42, 43 Literature, Vi, 8, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 38, 48, 64 Logical, 12, 15, 19, 25, 29 London, 30, 63, 64 Los Angeles, Iv, 17, 40, 46, 47, 48
M Machine, 17 Make It So, 58 Manhattan, 15 Marvel, 43 Marxism, 12 Marxist, 19, See Marxism Mayan Revival Architecture, 41 Mead, Syd, 42 Metaphor, 13 Metropolis, 15, 17, 27, 40 Mies Van Der Rohe, 43 Mimesis, Iii, 10, 58 Minimalism, 43 Minimalist, 43 Modernism, 17 Modernist, 17, 24 Modernist Style, 15 More, Thomas 21 See Utopia Motorola, 58, 59, 60 Movies, 13, 15, 23, 27, 38, 39, 40, 41, 58 Musk, Elon 15
N Narrative, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 29, 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 48, 49, 50, 51, 57 Narratives, 9, 11, 15, 16, 24, 34, 38, 57, See Narrative Natural Form, 57 Negativity, 23 Neighbourhood, 22 New York, 27, 63, 64 Novum, 10, 19, 28, 29, 34, 37, 38, 42, 43, 45, 47, 49, 52, 54 Novum, Iii, 11, 19, 20, 25, 38, 52, 57 Nuclear, 35, 37
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O Oedipus, 7, 8, 9, 11, 27 Oedipus Effect, 7, 8, 9, 27 Operating System, 47 Ordered Dystopia, 23, 24 Ornamentation, 24, 38 Overpopulation, 40
P Paradigms, 32 Paradox, 46 Parrinder, Patrick, 11, 16, 28, 64 Pastiche, 27 Piano, Renzo, 60 Poetics, Vi, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20 Political, 25, 26, 29, 42, 45 Pollution, 16, 47, 48 Pompidou, Iv, 60, 61, 63 Possibilities, 32 Postmodern, 41 Predict, 8, 9, 21 Prediction, 7, 11, 27, 62 Prometheus, 40, 64 Prophecy, 7, 8 Pudong District, 47
R Reality, 12, 13, 26, 27, 30, 32, 41, 58 Representations, 27, 33 Robots, 12, 13, 14 Robots, 16 Rogers, Richard 60 See Pompidou Ramchurm, Rakesh, 15 Russel Hitchcock, 24
S Sagrada Familia, Iii, Iv, 55, 56, 57, 63, 64 Sanitised, 24 Science Fiction, I, Iii, Vi, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 28, 38, 39, 41, 60, 63, 64 Science Fiction Architecture, 9, 38 Sci-Fi, Iii, Iv, Vi, 8, 19, 32, 34, 38, 62 Shanghai, 47 Shelley, P.B., 13, 40, 64 Shedroff, Nathan, 58 Simulacra, 10,11, 26, 58 See Baudrillard, Jean Simulacrum, 60, See Simulacra Simulation, 10, 26, 42, 58 See Baudrillard, Jean Simulations, 27 Social Commentaries, 14 Soviet, 53 Spatial Quality, 49 Speculative, 31, 60 Spielberg, Steven 41 Star Trek, 60 Steel, 24
Stevens, John H., 28 Story, 12, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 29, 38, 39, 41, 47, 48 Sturgeon, Theodore 15 Superhero, 43 Surprise Free World, 46 Surveillance, 40 Suvin, Darko Vi, 10, 11, 13, 18, 19, 20, 28, 34, 39, 64 See Cognitive Estrangement, Estrangement, Science Fiction
T Technology, Iii, 9, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 31, 38, 42, 45, 47, 56, 58, 61, 64 Terminator, 14 Television, 8, 13, 39 The International Style, 24 The Jewish Museum, Iii, 50 See Libeskind, Daniel The Martian, 13 See Weir, Andy Theories, 10, 12 Totalitarian, 10, 24, 25, 43 Totalitarianism, 22 Trends, I, Vi, 9, 15, 16, 23, 38, 62 Tron, Iv, 39, 42, 43 Turing, Alan 14
U Ukraine, 36 Unbuilt, 30 Unwin, Simon, 8 Urban, Vi, 9, 10, 15, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 34, 40, 41, 48, 54 Urban Condition, 27 Urban Identity, 28 Utopia, 10, 21, 22, 23, 26, 34, 46, 54, 63, 64 Utopia, 9, 11, 19, 22, 23, 26, 46, 63 Utopias, Iii, 21, 22, 23
V Vibranium, 45 See Black Panther Visual Aesthetic, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 61
W Wakanda, Iv, 44, 45 See Black Panther Warning, Iii, 16, 23 Webb, Michael 30 See Archigram Weir, Andy, 13, 64 See The Martian Wells, H.G., 20, 21 Wendt, A., 28, 64 World Building, 23, 42, 44 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 41, 64 Wurm, Erwin 33
Z Zaha, 53, 54, 63, 64, See Hadid, Zaha Zemeckis, Robert, 15 See Back to The Future
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