Architecture and the Utopian Ideal

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how architects and artists of every age have attempted to bring man back into communion with the spirit of nature and harmony with fellow human beings. It looks at how in reality, this ideal has been successful in only a few architects' works, though many have attempted or dreamed of its being put to practical use.

From the Paper:

"Mies Van der Rohe, born in 1886 in Germany, said he was "convinced that architecture is the most significant expression of a civilization." He went through the horrors of World War I, and, along with other artists and architects held onto the concept of a Utopian society, when they founded the Bauhouse in 1919 in Dresden. Mies wrote for avant garde journals, pushing the idea of a society without pain for all and designs dedicated to form and function, which would be beautiful in their usefulness. Along with other architects, he helped design a housing colony in Stuttgard and the German Pavilion for the Barcelona World's Fair. The pavilion was the model of the structure of Utopia, with reflecting pools, chrome-plated columns and clean lines. It made space feel as it were floating, with only a base and a roof supported by a few columns. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ashraf, Kazi. Muzharul Islam, Kahn and architecture in Bangladesh, Architecture in Development, Singapore: Concept Media Ltd., Mar 31, 1989.
• Fitting, Peter. Urban planning/utopian dreaming: Le Corbusier's Chandigarh today. Utopian Studies, Vol. 13, 2002.
• Gebhard, David and Winter, Robert. Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide. Layton, UT, Gibbs Smith, 1994.
• Goldberger, Paul, "Philip Johnson is dead at 98; architecture's restless intellect," New York Times Jan 27, 2005.
• Le Corbusier. The Radiant City: Elements of a Doctrine of Urbanism to be Used as the Basis of Our Machine-Age Civilization. New York: Orion Press. 1965.

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