Neo-futurism is a late-20th to early-21st-century movement in the arts, design, and architecture.[2][3]
Described as an avant-garde movement,[4] as well as a futuristic rethinking of the thought behind aesthetics and functionality of design in growing cities, the movement has its origins in the mid-20th-century structural expressionist work of architects such as Alvar Aalto and Buckminster Fuller.[2]
Although it was never built, the Fun Palace (1961), interpreted by architect Cedric Price as a "giant neo-futurist machine",[18][19] influenced other architects, notably Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, whose Centre Pompidou extended many of Price's ideas.
Definition
Neo-futurism was in part revitalised in 2007 after the publication of "The Neo-Futuristic City Manifesto"[20][21][22] included in the candidature presented to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)[23] and written by innovation designer Vito Di Bari[24][25] (a former executive director at UNESCO),[26] to outline his vision for the city of Milan at the time of the Universal Expo 2015. Di Bari defined his neo-futuristic vision as the "cross-pollination of art, cutting edge technologies and ethical values combined to create a pervasively higher quality of life";[27] he referenced the Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development Theory[28] and reported that the name had been inspired by the United Nations report Our Common Future.[29]
Soon after Di Bari's manifesto, a collective in the UK called The Neo-Futurist Collective, launched their own version of the Neo-futurist manifesto, written by Rowena Easton, on the streets of Brighton on 20 February 2008, to mark the 99th anniversary of the publication of the Futurist manifesto by FT Marinetti in 1909.[30] The collective's take on Neo-Futurism was much different to Di Bari's, in a sense that it focussed on acknowledging the legacy of the Italian Futurists as well as criticising our current state of despair over climate change and the financial system. On their introduction to their manifesto, The Neo-Futurist Collective noted: “In an age of mass despair over the state of the planet and the financial system, the futurist legacy of optimism for the power of technology uniting with the imagination of humanity has a powerful resonance for our modern age”.[31] This shows an interpretation of Neo-Futurism that is more socially involved – one that speaks directly to its followers rather than denoting certain outlooks through actions (e.g. choice of eco-aware materials in Neo-Futurist architecture).
Jean-Louis Cohen has defined neo-futurism[32][33] as a corollary to technology, noting that a large amount of the structures built today are byproducts of new materials and concepts about the function of large-scale constructions in society. Etan J. Ilfeld wrote that in the contemporary neo-futurist aesthetic "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."[34] 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,[35] as Banham stated about neo-futuristic "Archigram's Plug-in Computerized City, form does not have to follow function into oblivion."[36]
Matthew Phillips defined the Neo-Futurist aesthetic as a "manipulation of time, space, and subject against a backdrop of technological innovation and domination, [that] posits new approaches to the future contrary to those of past avant-gardes and current technocratic philosophies".[37] This definition agrees with the work of Neo-Futurist architects whose approach is situated in the context of technological innovation, but does not mention the ecological mindfulness that stems from architectural Neo-Futurism.
^Bethune, Meredith (31 July 2019). "An Inside Look at One of Zaha Hadid's Final Projects: China's Futuristic Jumeirah Nanjing Hotel". Robb Report. Retrieved 20 April 2022. architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, died unexpectedly in 2016. Adding to that tragedy were her many projects left unfinished, including the Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre (IYCC) in China. Fortunately, her London-based firm Zaha Hadid Architects has carried the torch, making it possible for a new hotel, Jumeirah Nanjing, to open inside the building
^ ab"Neo-futurism". Designing Buildings,the Construction Wiki. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022. neo-futurist aesthetics 'generates the emergence of artistic modes that would have been impossible prior to computer technology.'
^"Santiago Calatrava's Neo-Futuristic Architecture". Special Travel International. Vancouver. Retrieved 20 April 2022. Calatrava's artistic sensibility hasn't been limited strictly to architecture. He is also an accomplished sculptor and painter, creating a body of work on a smaller scale
^Tyc, Grzegorz (2018). "(Re)searching Forms of the Future. Futurism and Contemporary Architecture"(PDF). Krakow. Retrieved 20 April 2022. The pavilion in the form of a spaceship designed by Zaha Hadid is a perfect place for a futuristic fashion show. Apart from architecture, Zaha Hadid designed fashion, and the catwalk for Chanel.
^Asim, Farhan; Shree, Venu (July–September 2018). "A Century of Futurist Architecture: from Theory to Reality". Journal of Civil Engineering and Environmental Technology. 5 (6): 338–343. ISSN2349-8404. Retrieved 20 April 2022. To create a clear distinction between the futurist architecture of 1910–1920 and the architecture of post 1950s, futurism was renamed as 'Neo-futurism' by French Architect Denis Laming
^"Vito Di Bari vuelve a Colombia" [Vito Di Bari returns to Colombia]. Computer World Colombia (in Spanish). 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
Colin Rowe, Fred Koetter, After the Millennium, in Collage City, 1983, published by Architecture – The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Etan Jonathan Ilfeld, Beyond Contemporary Art, 2012, Vivays Publishing, London
Anthony Vidler, Histories of the immediate present, 2008 MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ISBN978-0-262-72051-9
Reyner Banham, "A Clip-on Architecture," Architectural Design 35, no. 11
Reyner Banham: Historian of the Immediate Future (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002)
Ru Brown, FUTURISM IS DEAD LONG LIVE FUTURISM The legacy of techno-love in contemporary design, 2011, University of Washington – MDes Design Investigations
Gabriel Gyang Dung, Bridget Mlumun Akaakohol, J.C. Akor – The Concept Of Sustainable Development And The Challenges Of Economic Growth And Development In Nigeria – July 2014, Department of Economics, College of Education, Katsina-Ala.