Neo-futurism

Neo-futurism is a late 20th-early 21st century movement in the arts, design, and architecture. It is a departure from the skeptical attitude of post-modernism connected with an idealistic belief in a better future and “a need to periodize the modern rapport with the technological”.^[1]

This avant-garde movement^[2] is a futuristic rethinking of the visual and functionality of the rapidly growing cities affected by a wide-scale urbanization. The swift industrialization that began to occur internationally following the Second World War gave wind to new streams of thought in life, art and architecture that led to Postmodernism, Neomodernism and then Neo-Futurism.^[3] In the Western countries, Futurist architecture evolved into Art Deco, the Googie movement and High Tech Architecture and finally into Neo-Futurism.^[4] Neofuturistic urbanists, architects, designers and artists believe in cities releasing emotions, driven by eco-sustainability, ethical values and implementing new materials and new technologies to provide a better quality of life for city-dwellers.

Origins

Pioneered from early 60s and late 70s by thought leader Hal Foster;^[5] American architect Buckminister Fuller;^{[6][7][8][9][10]} Finnish-American architect and industrial designer Eero Saarinen,^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]} Archigram, a British avant-garde architectural group (Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene) based at the Architectural Association, London;^[18] American avant-garde architectural group ArchiGO, centered around the Illinois Institute of Technology;^[19][20] Danish architects Henning Larsen;^[21] Czeck architect Jan Kaplický;^[22][23] Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag ;^[24] Italian light sculptor Marco Lodola;^[25][26][27] American concept artist Syd Mead;^[28] American theatre screenwriter Greg Allen^[29] and Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky. Although it was never built, the Fun Palace (1961) interpreted by architect Cedric Price as a “giant neo-futurist machine”^[30][31] influenced other architects, notably Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, whose Centre Georges Pompidou extended many of Price's ideas.

Definition

Neo-futurism has been relaunched in 2007 after diffusion of “The Neo-Futuristic City Manifesto” ^{[32][33][34][35]} included in the candidature presented to BIE (Bureau of International Expositions):^[36] and written by innovation designer Vito Di Bari,^[37][38][39] a former UNESCO's Executive Director,^[40] to outline the vision for the city of Milan at the time of the Universal Expo 2015. Di Bari defined his neofuturistic vision as the “cross-pollination of art, cutting edge technologies and ethical values combined to create a pervasively higher quality of life”;^[41] he referenced The Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development Theory^[42] and reported that the name had been inspired by the United Nations’ report Our Common Future.^[43] Jean-Louis Cohen has defined Neo-Futurism^[44][45] as “a corollary to technology, being the structures built today byproducts of new materials to create previously impossible forms.” Etan J. Ilfeld wrote that in the contemporary neo-futurist aesthetics "the machine becomes an integral element of the creative process itself, and generates the emergence of artistic modes that would have been impossible prior to computer technology."^[46] Reyner Banham’s definition of “une architecture autre” is a call for an architecture that technologically overcomes all previous architectures but possessing an expressive form,^[47] as Banham stated about neo-futuristic “Archigram’s Plug-in Computerized City, form does not have to follow function into oblivion”.^[48]

People

The relaunch of neofuturistic architecture and art in the 21st century has been creatively inspired by Iraqi-British Pritzker Prize architect Zaha Hadid,^{[49][50][51][52][53][54]} Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava^{[55] [56][57][58][59]} and by its thought leader Italian innovation designer Vito Di Bari.^[60][61][62]

Neo-Futurist architects, designers and artists are French architect Denis Laming;^{[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77]} American artists Erin Sparler,^[78] Marlow Rodale,^[79] Studio-X Lawrie Masson;^[80] Panayiotis Terzis,^[81] and Miguel Ovalle;^[82] urban-noise artist Joseph Young;^[83] French designer Patrick Jouin^[84] British artist Olivia Peake;^[85] Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato,^[86][87] Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag^[88] and Greek artist Charis Tsevis.^{[89][90][91][92][93][94]} Neo-futurism has absorbed sоme оf the high-tech architecture’s themes аnd ideas, incorporating elements оf high-tech industry аnd technology іntо building design:^[95] technology and context is the focus of some architects of this movement such as Buckminster Fuller, Norman Foster,^[96][97] Kenzo Tange, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Frei Otto, and Santiago Calatrava.^{[98][99][100]}

Gallery

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  TWA Terminal in New York City by Eero Saarinen, 1962

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  Dulles International Airport in Chantilly by Eero Saarinen, 1963

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  Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Eero Saarinen, 1965

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  The Montreal Biosphère by Buckminster Fuller, 1967

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  Kunsthaus Graz by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier

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  The Copenhagen Opera House, by Henning Larsen, in Copenhagen, Denmark

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  L'Imax 3D by Denis Laming

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  London City Hall by Norman Foster in London

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  The British Library of Political and Economic Science by Norman Foster in London

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  The futuristic interior roof of Hong Kong International Airport by Norman Foster

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  The tessellated glass roof of the British Museum's Great Court by Norman Foster in London

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  The new Wembley Stadium in London by Norman Foster, 2007

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  30 St Mary Axe by Norman Foster in London

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  L'Oceanogràfic, by Santiago Calatrava, in Valencia, Spain

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  L'Àgora, by Santiago Calatrava, in Valencia, Spain

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  El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, by Santiago Calatrava, in Valencia, Spain

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  Turning Torso by Santiago Calatrava, in Malmö, Sweden (2005)

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  L'Hemisfèric, by Santiago Calatrava, in Valencia, Spain

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  Auditorio de Tenerife by Santiago Calatrava, in Canary Islands, Spain

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  Skytree is a fusion of neofuturistic^[1][2] design and the traditional beauty of Japan

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  Heydar Aliyev Cultural CenterIby Zaha Hadid, in Baku, Azerbaijan

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  London Aquatics Centre, by Zaha Hadid, in Stratford

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  by Zaha Hadid, in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China

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  Top station: Hungerburg by Zaha Hadid, in Hungerburg, Austria

1. ^ "Tokyo Sky Tree: the world’s tallest broadcasting tower - megalopolisnow". megalopolisnow. Retrieved 22 October 2014. 
2. ^ "Japan - ArchDaily - Part 33". Archdaily.com. Retrieved 22 October 2014. 

References

Further reading