4.1 Critical Reflection: Futurist Architecture

Futurist architecture (part of the futurism artistic movement) is a form of architecture that came to reject traditional and earlier aesthetics, introducing new ways based on two major issues: motion and machine. This new artistic concept, they understood as a fundamental feature of modern life. Antonio Sant’Elia, who, although built little, translated the futurist vision into an urban form.

Various drawings of Antonio Sant’Elia 

 

Antonio Sant’elia & Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wrote the manifesto of Futurist architecture that proclaimed their visions for the movement.

Manifesto of Futurist Architecture.

1. That Futurist architecture is the architecture of calculation, of audacious temerity and of simplicity; the architecture of reinforced concrete, of steel, glass, cardboard, textile fiber, and of all those substitutes for wood, stone and brick that enable us to obtain maximum elasticity and lightness;
2. That Futurist architecture is not because of this an arid combination of practicality and usefulness, but remains art, i.e. synthesis and expression;
3. That oblique and elliptic lines are dynamic, and by their very nature possess an emotive power a thousand times stronger than perpendiculars and horizontals, and that no integral, dynamic architecture can exist that does not include these;
4. That decoration as an element superimposed on architecture is absurd, and that the decorative value of Futurist architecture depends solely on the use and original arrangement of raw or bare or violently colored materials;
5. That, just as the ancients drew inspiration for their art from the elements of nature, we—who are materially and spiritually artificial—must find that inspiration in the elements of the utterly new mechanical world we have created, and of which architecture must be the most beautiful expression, the most complete synthesis, the most efficacious integration;
6. That architecture as the art of arranging forms according to pre-established criteria is finished;
7. That by the term architecture is meant the endeavor to harmonize the environment with Man with freedom and great audacity, that is to transform the world of things into a direct projection of the world of the spirit;
8. From an architecture conceived in this way no formal or linear habit can grow, since the fundamental characteristics of Futurist architecture will be its impermanence and transience. Things will endure less than us. Every generation must build its own city. This constant renewal of the architectonic environment will contribute to the victory of Futurism which has already been affirmed by words-in-freedom, plastic dynamism, music without quadrature and the art of noises, and for which we fight without respite against traditionalist cowardice.

Antonio Sant’elia & Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1914).  

By understanding the characteristics of Futurist architecture I can begin to translate these features into my design. These components allow methods that symbolise and embody the concept of motion and machine in a dynamic and abstract form. My interpretation of this manifesto and the styles that I will use to influence my design are as follows:

-Modern materials that celebrate the birth of the machine; reinforced concrete, iron and glass. The emphasis on modern materials within Futurist architecture is the ability to obtain maximum elasticity and lightness. Relating this to the function of my design – a showroom for McLaren to showcase and reveal their latest machine, I can also consider using materials used in making F1 cars. Material scientists play a crucial role in the design and manufacture of a Formula 1 car with technological advancements in materials enabling F1 cars to become lighter, safer and faster than ever before.  For instance, the introduction of fibre reinforced composite chassis was a key turning point in the history of developing F1 racing cars. First introduced in 1980 by the McLaren F1 Team, carbon fibre composites are now used widely in many of the F1 components – almost 85% of the volume of a typical F1 car is made up of them.

-Refusal of perpendicular and horizontal lines. Use oblique and elliptic lines instead as they are characterized by constant change and activity. Forms full of freedom, breaking the elements of traditional architecture, but sometimes not completely abstract.

-Simple, undecorated design with emphasis on raw and unfinished surfaces.