The Future was Then

January 23rd, 2003

Antoni Gaudi submits his proposal for the
World Trade Center building, post-humously.

I find that oddly appropiate.

Filed under Culture & Not |

4 Responses to “The Future was Then”

  1. Randolph Fritz on January 23, 2003 9:12 pm

    Well, I’ve been saying the 21st century might look like Gaudi and the Dean brothers for a while…

    There are a few more notes by Laffoley on-line. I believe the BBC’s comparative drawing is after a similar drawing in Rem Koolhaas’ Delerious New York. I wonder how much there actually is of Gaudi’s sketches, and what materials he would have proposed for their realization.

  2. --k. on January 23, 2003 11:54 pm

    It’s one step closer to the world of Zot. I approve!

  3. Randolph Fritz on January 24, 2003 12:18 pm

    Gaudi saw his work as a continuation of the past, rather than something of a revolutionary future, so the world of Zot may not be quite the direction. I find it interesting that biomorphicism, moderate nationalism, and structural clarity–and Gaudi very much relied on structure to give his designs form–can still lead to fresh work. It is much fresher than most modernist straining after abstract form; most architects don’t know enough mathematics to do that well, and most of the mathematics comes from the study of natural form, anyway. “The tree is my master.”

    Some architectural historians, however, place Gaudi with the nationalist modernists like Aalto, and I think they have a point.

  4. John Snead on January 25, 2003 10:39 am

    I love it, Gaudi has always been one of my favorite architects, and this design is quite nice. it also looks rather like it’s about to lift off the launching pad, which is always a good thing in my book.

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