Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture

by Douglas Murphy

Whatever happened to the last utopian dreams of the city?

In the late 1960s the world was faced with impending disaster: the height of the Cold War, the end of oil and the decline of great cities throughout the world. Out of this crisis came a new generation that hoped to build a better future, influenced by visions of geodesic domes, walking cities and a meaningful connection with nature. In this brilliant work of cultural history, architect Douglas Murphy traces the lost archeology of the present day through the works of thinkers and designers such as Buckminster Fuller, the ecological pioneer Stewart Brand, the Archigram architects who envisioned the Plug-In City in the ’60s, as well as co-operatives in Vienna, communes in the Californian desert and protesters on the streets of Paris. In this mind-bending account of the last avant-garde, we see not just the source of our current problems but also some powerful alternative futures.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Urbanism, Design, History, Theory, Philosophy

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Douglas Murphy is an architect who has written a clutch of books and a lot of articles. He spends much of his time in an architecture school.

Reviews

[csillagkohó · Rating 4 out of 5]

Groene Waterman-koopjes stellen niet teleur 🫡 Dit is een rollercoaster door de vergeten architecturale nokken en nissen van een halve eeuw geleden. De ene al obscuurder dan de andere: megastructuren, geodetische koepels, biosferen, cybernetische dromen, inplugbare of recycleerbare steden, Japans metabolisme, wereldtentoonstellingen, hippie-nomadisme... Douglas Murphy balanceert zijn meeslepende verhaal rond deze stromingen en ambities op het kruispunt van architectuur, filosofie en politiek.

Naast de grootse, utopische schaal van de projecten in dit boek valt hun spookachtige "liminal spaces"-esthetiek op. Sociaal bewogen dromen over stedelijke megastructuren werden dan ook langzaam maar zeker geïncorporeerd in de esthetiek van het kapitalisme - ontdaan van hun originele visie, in de vorm van kolossale en tegelijk lege, karakterloze plaatsen. De hedendaagse formele opvolgers van radicale visies uit de jaren '60 en '70 zijn winkelcentra, vliegvelden, kantoorgebouwen en de glimmende glazen hoofdkwartieren van techgiganten. Waren dit dan echt de laatste toekomsten?

[Leif · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of solid little paperback that Verso excel at: informative, searching, and historically adroit. Murphy's vision of the history of architecture is one of great expectations and disappointed backlash, and his chapters are generally well organized and chronologically progressive. There are enough details to reinforce the overall sweep but it is not a technician's manual, that's for sure. My one complaint is that there could have been many, many more wonderful images and photographs of the structures discussed. A strong read.

[Nate Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. A great balance of history and philosophy that offers a very reasonable opinion on the grim future of architecture - and humanity - after the death of utopian ambitions in architecture. Despite being an overview-type book, I think Murphy does a great job providing many details and works to consider and go study. Also, I found it quite well-written!

[Brumaire Bodbyl-Mast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murphy’s work provides noteworthy insight into the relationship between the radical, experimental modernist architecture of mid century years, along with the role of cybernetics and cultural mindset regarding the role of the natural world. However, the lack of full on synthesis of its ideological discussions and architectural discussions can prove a bit much sometimes, as Architectural discussion is left without ideological context or vice versa. Regardless the modernist dreams of the 60s and 70s, most prominently displayed in their evolution (or devolution) by the various expos and world fairs, which Murphy compares with the earlier 19th century international expos throughout, especially utilizing the imagery of the 1851 crystal palace as a point of comparison. The main focus of the book trends frequently towards domes, which again, can limit its scope, as it becomes bogged down in discussions of megastructural Utopianism rather than the other forms of “last future” Utopianism- though this is logical as Murphy’s intended focus seems to be more architectural. The hypothesis sometimes proves hard to surmise but becomes clear towards the end— Murphy’s writing style makes it seem as though he is praising these failed utopian projects rather than demonstrating the tragic loss of utopian and grandiose thinking with the intent of change over the last few decades.

[Alessio Erioli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucid walkthrough of the architectural currents that flourished from post-WW2 til the 90es, their ambitions of progress and betterment of society, and a critical lens on why they were abandoned or fell out of touch with the general public. The tone of the book is not of contempt for those movements, rather an attempt to highlight the positive qualities that might be worth a second chance, after learning history's lesson.

[Ansi Deniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are living the future of 1960’s.
Although the book seems to be about architecture, it talks about the effect of modernism on today.
The modernism made decisions based on the political and social environment of the first half of 1900s. Cold war, nuclear power, hippies, and technology...
If you are interested in futurism, take a look at this book.

[Rob Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murphy is at his best when exploring the broader cultural context of the buildings and movements he covers rather than the tiresome academic architectural bickering or philosophical black holes he sometimes chooses to go down.

[Callum Robert Inkster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look into the possible futures of a bygone age, and what the causes were for it's dismantling (and potential capitalistic revival)

Though it is incredibly Euro-centric, with only really touching on Metabolism in Japan. And heavily follows the character of Buckminster Fuller.

[Grahaeme Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Last Futures' is a fascinating look at a time when architecture, and society at large, were striving for something better. It's primarily the history of the failure of modernist architecture's utopian aspirations, yet at the same time there's something inspiring about this book; in describing the lofty ambitions of the radicals and visionaries of the past, I felt a stirring of hope for the future.

[Cristina Chelarescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unpretentious and logical, loved reading it