Architecture and Dystopia

Is it possible to define a unified "dystopian" method of design or does such architecture, by its very nature, resist systematization?  Do the most recognizable expressions of architectural dystopia, characterized by brazen displays of technology and structures of overwhelming scale, merely amount to isolated cases, albeit of particular iconic power? Or do they belong to a wider landscape of antirational projects?  To what extent are these disturbing expressions premised on the utopian tradition or, conversely, conceptual models of negative thinking?

This book explores how utopia and its inverse have served as methods to explore possibilities rather than prefigure realizable environments. When adopted as a contemporary design strategy, dystopia becomes a practice more than a place, as well as an analytical category for architectural criticism.

With contributions by Dario Donetti, Marco De Michelis, Oliver Elser, Dominique Rouillard, Marco Biraghi, Marie Theres Stauffer, Maddalena Scimemi, Simon Sadler, Massimiliano Savorra, Anthony Vidler