Arcadia ex machina : high technology as a baroque & utopian style of architecture

Abstract

This thesis focuses on an emerging 'Hi-tech' style of architecture, broader in scope than that produced by nominally 'Hi-tech' architects. This style draws upon a wide base of sources in the sciences and arts in modern society and in history. It is argued that the revolutionary modern style actually represents a reinvigoration of ancient themes, given life in new forms that would not otherwise have found expression were it not for the medium of advanced technological culture. Rather than demystifying the universe in an overtly pragmatic and technocratic culture, it is argued that science and technology provide the means by which a new sublime romantic tradition can find architectural expression. The introduction offers a working definition of what architecture is, and what may be defined as 'Hi-tech'. The following chapter argues that there is a thriving mythic tradition in modern society that finds expression and articulation of archetypal concerns in modern forms. Two chapters following that map out the general representational and architectural issues animating the Hi-tech style, and begin an examination of how traditional ideas of architecture are affected by new technology. The central section of the thesis consists of three 'case studies', generic contemporary contexts, within which Hi-tech architecture is conceived, made and exists. The first, 'Nevada', argues that many of the basic ideas of architecture have their origins in the field of military technology and strategy. This chapter explores what new developments in the art of war reveal about modern ideas of architectural spatiality, and how complex technological systems are integrated in architecture and elsewhere as practical systems and styles. The second study, 'Paris', is concerned with the state of the 'utopia' of the modern technological city: what style and representation mean today and the place the individual and the idea of perspective have where technology is radically changing ideas of representation, place, self and perspective. The third case, 'Mars', analyses the influence of space exploration. Architecture has long been concerned with providing a cosmic 'grounding' for culture and human life. Now, the discoveries made by astronomers and interplanetary spacecraft are revealing a new universe. It is no less resonant with meaning for humanity than was the cosmos of any previous society, and already many architects are drawing upon the discoveries of science to give depth and universal integrity to their work. In sequence, the three chapters examine how architectural ideas emerge out of superficially non-architectural sources, how these ideas find expression as part of the human architectural environment, and how they express a monumental tradition. The penultimate chapter draws together the basic themes of this study, looking again at basic architectural ideas, and then examining their architectural consequences in a series of scenarios that demonstrate the life and depth of the Hi-tech style. The conclusion extracts the essences from the study, arguing that the Hi-tech style can be best understood, not as simply an expression of technocratic idealism, but as a form encompassing the frivolity, classicism and gravity of the Baroque. Despite the aggressive newness and functionality of modern technology, it can, and is, being used to articulate utopian and monumental themes. As such, it is an integral part of architecture today, and indeed, of architectural history.