Utopian projects drawings as indicators of modern society needs

Abstract

The paper explores architectural drawing as a medium of representation of utopian visions, which aim to indicate needs and problems of modern society. Architectural drawing has always been a powerful tool for reviewing and representing the space, both material and mental – social space. Thus, drawings of utopian projects from the sixties and seventies of the last century had followed and generated significant social changes. Starting from that period until today, architectural drawing remained the model of detection and conceptualization of the problems each community faces and fights. Unfortunately, modern cities are not the places that will provide a sustainable and humanized tomorrow for us. In such environment, drawings of futuristic projects and utopian visions are opening new topics and suggesting possible solutions. Also, in this process, architectural drawing is recognized as a model of creating a deflection from the recent social practices and anachronistic principles of urban development and, therefore, it is opening the possibilities of new concepts and alternatives. Hence, the aim of the paper relates to exploring and defining the parameters of the social context that caused the production of utopian projects, and thus established drawing as a medium of their presentation. The study begins with an analysis of social conditions in the period of decades after the Second World War, which brought specific and avant-garde utopian projects. In those years, architectural drawing was recognized as a means of struggle against the repressive principles of post-war modernism. Finally, the study focuses on drawings of modern utopias and cities of tomorrow, and reviewing the characteristics of the social context in which these utopias were created.