Futurism | ATKINSON+CO

Inspired by the drawings of Antonio SantElia, these visualisations were created to show hisvast imaginary monolithic structures placed in a London setting 100 years later. Below are a few lines from the Wikipedia article describing his life and career.

Antonio SantElia was born inComo,Lombardy. A builder by training, he opened adesignoffice inMilanin 1912 and became involved with theFuturistmovement. Between 1912 and 1914, influenced by industrial cities of theUnited Statesand the architectsRenzo Picasso,Otto WagnerandAdolf Loos, he began a series of design drawings for a futuristCitt Nuova(New City) that was conceived as a symbol of a new age.

Many of these drawings were displayed at the only exhibition of theNuove Tendenzegroup (of which he was a member) exhibition in May/June 1914 at the Famiglia Artistica gallery. Today, some of these drawings are on permanent display at Comos art gallery (Pinacoteca).

ThemanifestoFuturist Architecturewas published in August 1914, supposedly by SantElia, though this is subject to debate. In it the author stated that the decorative value of Futurist architecture depends solely on the use and original arrangement of raw or bare or violently colored materials.His vision was for a highly industrialised andmechanizedcity of the future, which he saw not as a mass of individual buildings but a vast, multi-level, interconnected and integrated urbanconurbationdesigned around the life of the city. His extremely influential designs featured vast monolithicskyscraperbuildings with terraces, bridges and aerial walkways that embodied the sheer excitement of modern architecture and technology. Even in this excitement for technology and modernity, in SantElias monumentalism, however, can be found elements ofArt NouveauarchitectGiuseppe Sommaruga.

Anationalistas well as anirredentist, SantElia joined the Italian army as Italy enteredWorld War Iin 1915. He was killed during theEighth Battle of the Isonzo, nearGorizia. Most of his designs were never built, but his futurist vision has influenced many architects, artists and designers.

Go here to see the original:
Futurism | ATKINSON+CO