An investigation of futurist architectural design

This paper explores the relations between drawing and its influences on architectural language. It uses as a resource the examination of the so-called futurist architecture, above all, the graphic production of Antonio Sant’Elia. The interest of the study lies in the verification that, despite the futurist movement having failed to erect a single work of architecture as representative of its ideology, the historic recognition of this modality is undeniable. This acknowledgment shows the value of graphic representation as a structural fact in the comprehension and development of architectural design. The research analysed the proposals and architectural propositions of the futurist movement. It sought to conduct a reading of the drawings through the existent relations between the designs and the main supporting texts of the Movement (Manifesto). In the present text, parallels are established between works of fine arts by Umberto Boccioni and Giacomo Balla and Sant’Elia’s architectural proposals. The etymologic roots of the drawings are also studied, visualizing the Power Stations as the foundry of formal imagery. Through a perceptive semiotic reading, the investigation also tries to establish a grammatical interpretation of the meanings and elements used in Sant’Elia’s drawings. In the conclusion, a few uses of futurist references are indicated, such as the “Une Ville Contemporaine” by Le Corbusier, as well as the later consequences, such as the urban plan of Brasilia where architect Lucio Costa employs the idea of installing the urban transportation terminal in the middle of the city. Revelation lies in the ways that work contained in drawings of architectural propositions, seen as strictly paper-bound designs, can bring about significant changes in the construction of the constructed space. Introduction Appreciation of the self-professed futurist architecture leads to a point of particular interest in the study of drawings as signs of architecture: the investigation of an architecture known only through its graphic pre-figurations. Historical authors such as Benévolo (1974), Zevi (1980) and Frampton (1987) highlight the influences of the figurative abstract movements in the construction of modern architecture. They all note on the influences of expressionism, cubism, neo-plasticism and other “isms” in the configuration of significant changes in architecture and design occurring in the first decades of the 20 century. The appreciation of the relationships between futurism and modern architecture and design is of particular relevance amongst these movements. Firstly for having been a general movement bringing together literature, fine arts, music and not consisting merely as a visual arts movement. Further relevance can be found in the fact that sanction of a futuristic architecture, in the absence of materialized works, come solely from the study of its drawings as signs of that architecture: