The 10 cities are selected amongst many others based on their ability to capture a time and an ambition. All utopic cities influence our urban landscapes. Some have done so negatively and others positively. It is important to note that these examples unlike most of our cities today are shaped by ideology and not by capital flow.
Most utopist cities or cities for the future always addressed the relationship to nature, community and the environment.
Royal Salt Works 1775
1- Royal Salt works 1775: designed by Ledoux for Arc-et-Senans, France was an attempt to combine industrial production and industrial work force in an overpowering work environment. Green space was used as transition spaces defining zones. The plans and their support by the Royal leading class, and enforcement of ‘gabelle’, a tax, led to the French revolution!
Garden city 1902
2- Garden city 1902: designed by Ebenezer Howard for England was meant to introduce the best aspects of country and city life. Concentric rings of program and green space create the plan of the city. A green belt surrounded by agricultural fields contains the city.
Radiant city 1935
3- Radiant city 1935: designed by le Corbusier for the world attempted in extremely high density residential quarters to provide light, air, and nature, reuniting man and nature in a ordered environment . His celebration of skyscrapers and prefabricated units, which became technological possibilities during this time isolated poor communities in monolithic high-rises from any type of community formation and life.
Hauptstadt 1958
4- Hauptstadt 1958 by the Smithson’s attempted to break away from the rigid grid like planning popular during the time and propose a more organic and playful urban environment. The proposal for a mat building to be built on top of the street grid of Berlin incorporating both historical structures and new office towers introduces an interesting urban strategy that negotiated between the past, present and the future.
Bridge city 1960
5- Bridge city 1960 by Friedman and Fielitz introduces a transport infrastructure, over the English Channel, within a space frame that permits inputs to be inserted by inhabitants as needed.
Dome over Manhattan 1960
6- Dome over Manhattan 1960 proposed by Fuller for New York is a proposal to resolve the wasteful nature of the urban landscape. Fullers attempt to create a climate-free city for efficiency with a geodesic dome shows an attempt to overpower the environment and create controlled environments on a city scale.
Clusters in the Air
7- Clusters in the Air in 1960-62 for Tokyo designed by Isozaki a Metabolist attempted to create tree like housing structures that free the ground and occupy the sky. His cantilevering housing units from a central spine and the potential to lower housing costs through industrialized capsules was a strong vision to increase the density within a horizontally occupied city.
Plug in City 1964
8- Plug in City 1964 by Archigram was a diagrid mega-structure made of communication pipes and individual modules located were required through a crane system. The flexibility that machine provides for urban dwellings becomes an exciting and ever changing experience for man.
Continous monument 1969
9- Continuous monument 1969 by Super studio: An Architectural Model for Total Urbanization is an endless grid framework that extends across the earth’s surface in a critique of what Super studio saw as the absurdities of contemporary urban planning. The group created photo-collages to show the grid cloaking Manhattan among other icons.
Masdar 2006
10- Masdar 2006 by fosters for Abu Dhabi UAE is a plan for a carbon zero community relying on public transport and productive green spaces. Both passive and high tech solutions are utilized for energy conservation. A city one with technology and the environment
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