Unbuilt: Radical visions of a future that never arrived
£19.00£23.80 (-20%)
Unbuilt tells the stories of the plans, drawings and proposals that emerged during the 20th century in an unparalleled era of optimism in architecture.
Many of these grand projects stayed on the drawing board, some were flights of fancy that couldn’t be built, and in other cases test structures or parts of buildings did emerge in the real world. The book features the work of Buckminster Fuller, Geoffrey Bawa, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Archigram, as well as contemporary architects such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Will Alsop and Rem Koolhaas.
Richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, collages and models from all over the world, it covers everything from Buckminster Fuller’s plan for a ‘Domed city’ in Manhattan to Le Corbusier’s utopian dream of skyscraper living in central Paris, from a proposed network of motorways ploughing through central London to a crazy-looking scheme for ‘rolling pavements’ in post-war Berlin.
This is an important book, not just for the rich stories of what might have been in our built world, but also to give understanding to the motivations and dreams of architects, sometimes to build a better world, but sometimes to pander to egos. It includes plans that pushed the boundaries – from plug-in cities, moving cities, space cities, domes and floating cities to Maglev, teleportation and rockets. Many ideas were just ahead of their time, and some, thankfully, we were always better without.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Batsford, 1st edition (2 Sept. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 208 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1849946639 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1849946636 |
| Dimensions | 22.23 x 2.41 x 28.17 cm |
by Flo
A fantastic book which celebrates the proposals, failures and dreams of radical urban planners – I can’t believe that I didn’t know about the unbuilt King’s Cross Airport!
by Mrs Suzanne Heath
Chock full of great examples of architectural designs that were never realised. Beautifully illustrated & designed. The author Christopher Beanland has a very readable writing style which is both informative and engaging.
by Michael Robinson
I enjoyed the writers honest appraisals. The pictures were excellent though I’d of preferred an artists’ impressions of every design mentioned. The quality of the book also stands out and I was very happy with my purchase.
I hope the writer does a follow up book showing uplifting architecture from around the world that’s actually been “built”. Perhaps another follow on book would be architecture that’s long since gone or lost it’s original purpose.
by James Drury
A superb look at some of the projects that never got off the drawing board, told in Chris Beanland’s inimitable accessible manner. Well-researched, fascinating, often very funny and always engaging, this is an important look at the architectural projects that never came to be. Recommended.
by Amazon Customer
Another excellent book. As usual with Chris, it’s very stylish and full of great pictures and fascinating facts. It’s well up to the standard of his previous publications and worthy of anyone’s bookshelf or coffee table.
by Heinrich W
Very difficult to dip in and out as there are no clearly marked page numbers to navigate.
by Roshan Dsouza
I am a big fan of unbuilt architecture and the archives that hold the information about them. Christopher managed to capture some truly remarkable projects along with incredible images to match. He also manages to inject humour in his writing style which I love. There’s a bit of everything here for folks: bridges, tall buildings, masterplans, etc. It’s made me want to explore his other works for sure.
by ANDRE D.L. MCLEOD
Another very entertaining and informative read. With each page you learn something new and looks great on the coffee table or bookcase. Would highly recommend.