The Metropolis Of Tomorrow The Metropolis Of Tomorrow

by Hugh Ferriss

The metropolis of the future — as perceived by architect Hugh Ferriss in 1929 — was both generous and prophetic in vision. Largely an illustrated essay on the modern city and its future, Ferriss' book incorporated his philosophy of architecture. Includes powerful illustrations of towering structures, personal space, wide avenues, and rooftop parks. 59 illustrations.

Genres: Architecture, Art, Nonfiction, History, Urbanism, Urban Studies, 20th Century

140 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Aaron Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing ages faster than yesterday's vision of the future, as the saying goes, and this Roaring Twenties-vintage gallery of skyscraper sketches and design philosophy makes for a neat time capsule of what people deep in the neo-gothic era thought cities would look like if you extended the trendlines of Art Deco out into the future. Ferris' many drawings of real and imaginary buildings are the highlight - very ghostly and nebulous, suggestive of vast Coruscant/Metropolis/Blade Runner-type grandeur even alongside his always poetic and thought-provoking essays about the importance of the human scale. He's perhaps too enamored of the automobile, but he was hardly alone in his Robert Moses-like enthusiasm for the science fictional possibilities they would bring; arguably this car-centric philosophy has permanently shifted the debate in America and should therefore be studied as science fact whether you agree with it or not. Alongside his discussions of then-new concepts like zoning and setbacks are some enjoyably dated prognostications on how tomorrow's cities would be organized; one can only imagine Jane Jacobs' horror over Ferriss rhapsodizing over monolithic pyramidal structures like the Power Plant, the Religious Tower, and the Business Center studding endless plains of lesser anthills. Here is his poem about the aesthetics of the Science Zone:

Buildings like crystals.
Walls of translucent glass.
Sheer glass blocks sheathing a steel grill.
No Gothic branch: no Acanthus leaf: no recollection of the plant world.
A mineral kingdom.
Gleaming stalagmites.
Forms as cold as ice.
Mathematics.
Night in the Science Zone.

This is both a horrible plan for a city and an excellent setting for a series of cyperpunk thriller novels. It's too short to be more than a glorified picture book, but recommended if you're a fan of historic architecture in New York, Chicago, St Louis, Detroit, etc, or of how modern urbanism inherits elements of the intellectual lineage of both these pharaonic megaliths and, say, Frank Lloyd Wright's Broadacre City proposals.

[David Rosen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the Architectural Ideas were New, the Ideals Behind them are Ancient

"The Metropolis of Tomorrow by Hugh Ferris a great example of how any field, taking upon it a vision of the future, ultimately tries to create a new system of benign government. Ferris was an architect who, in 1929, published a series of sketches about what cities could and should look like. Plainly stating that architecture affects people's actions at the subconscious level, he creates an environment within which people might just act better.

In spirit this is so much like Thomas More's Utopia or Edward Bellamy's Looking backward that it's freaky.

Ferriss's city is enormous. The base of its largest buildings take up eight blocks. They're so big and specially purposed that he says the word "building" no longer fits--they should be called "centers." There's a business, government, art and science center. Each building is its own city with banks, gyms, shops, restaurants.

In the city of the future, religions act in harmony. They're housed in a triple building. One is for the executive offices, the next for "aspirational activities" and the third, and the highest, is for charities.

The description of the Science Zone is a poem:

"Buildings like crystals.
Walls of translucent glass.
Sheer glass blocks sheathing a steel grill.
No Gothic branch: no Acanthus leaf: no recollection of the plant world.
A mineral kingdom.
Gleaming stalagmites.
Forms as cold as ice.
Mathematics.
Night in the Science Zone."

And yet for all the artificiality of it -- the buildings are concrete and the layout is geometric -- Ferris embeds organic aspects. Between the huge centers, buildings climb no more than six stories and they ascend inside towards the centers like "foothills." The roofs are covered in two feet of soil so trees can grow.

Ferris concludes his work: "Are we to imagine that this city is populated by human beings who value emotion and mind equally with the senses, and have therefore disposed their art, science and business centers in such a way that all three would participate equally in the government of the city?"

Ferris did much to influence our ideas about what the city of tomorrow should look like. But as new as his ideas were, it's clear that they're compelling for how they embody our ancient ideals, hopes and fears.

[Fernando Suarezserna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece, by all means. I had interest in this book because Tim Burton's Gotham City (Batman, 1989, and Batman Returns, 1992) were inspired in the sketches by Hugh Ferriss.

Ferriss is one of the greatest architects that, surprisingly, never built any significant structure. But he had a remarkable understanding of design and the way it's related to humanity. His sketches, his way of explaining, and his far-fetched ideas makes this book one of the best one's I've read regarding architecture (I have a major on civil engineering).

It's quite interesting that some of his conceptions of possibilities for architecture (the book was written in 1929) actually came true, such as having pedestrians walk in second levels, as it happens in Shanghai.

Would recommend if you're either a fan of Batman or of architectural design.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 reads, #23. It was only recently, through some random article at some random website I stumbled across, that I learned that those dramatic black-and-white drawings of Early Modernist skyscrapers I've been occasionally seeing my entire life were all the product of one man, Hugh Ferriss. Originally a simple architectural draftsman who would be hired by firms to do up 3D depictions of proposed projects in order to sell them to investors, as the years continued his personal style started creeping more and more into them, including his obsessive love for the severe shadows and nighttime depictions of German Expressionism, until he had become a virtual one-man genre unto himself that influenced everything from Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the early superhero comic books of DC.

I learned that the Chicago Public Library actually owns a 1986 reprint of his 1929 career peak The Metropolis of Tomorrow, and it sure doesn't disappoint. Split into three sections, the first third simply highlights his then already existing illustrations of skyscrapers actually in the real world (already hugely popular and widely reprinted in commercial magazines even in his own lifetime); the second third examines some of the coming issues involved with the continued urbanization of America's cities, including most famously his look at why cities need to enact height zoning laws so to avoid the growing problem of "concrete canyons" (which, indeed, most major cities in fact did enact in the years following this book's publication); and the last third, perhaps most famous now, depicts Ferriss' high-minded ideals about what a perfect future city might look like, which in good 1930s style is pretty much reminiscent of Albert Speer's own plans in these years for a post-war redesigned Nazi Berlin. (Ah, those Modernist architects and their obsession with grand boulevards!)

Well worth your time if you can ever track down a copy of this book at a rummage sale or used bookstore, Ferriss is worth remembering for the outsized effect he had on popular culture (for one notorious example, he singlehandedly invented the look of virtually every Batman movie that's been made since), and his thoughts about urbanism and population are a great study piece for anyone who wants to know more about the issues concerning sociologists during the rise of the "Skyscraper Era." It comes strongly recommended in this spirit.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eloquent commentary and utopian vision of what might have been. While Ferriss critics civic planners and architects are not without merit, many of the ideas he put have been enacted on a much smaller scale. I was drawn to this book after seeing some of the artwork, which is the greatest part of the book which almost looks like advertising material for a phantasmal art deco city.

[GreyAtlas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ohhh pretty pictures, wow. The words, fluff and muck.

[Melissa]

Areopagus

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and so interesting

[SmarterLilac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out mostly to see what the author's thoughts about the 'next' metropolis of his era would be like. It was a stark reminder of how much of our culture is obsessed with big cities--despite the fact that urbanization has probably killed us as a planet. Reading this book made me feel kinda sick.

[Jessie Moberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are tons of very beautiful and very interesting drawings/sketches/renderings in this book. I found that most of the images were captivating than the correlating writings, but that's mainly because the writing portion is about 1920's New York zoning law.

Fabulous printing/re-printing of a classic. Features many timeless drawings that have a reach way beyond the field of architecture.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A starkly beautiful book. I know nothing about architecture but this was fascinating and made both the designs and context accessible and interesting (who knew that zoning laws could be interesting!).

[Serjious Tsiulinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concept-architecturer shows his visual fantasies on globalized, population-condensed world. With skyscrappers all over, brutalism and glory to capitalism. Sketches are outstanding, and text is boring

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and thoughts on the future of cities as seen from the late 1920's. In other words, the future that never was.

Useful for anyone interested in retofuturism.

[Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting book to look through. The sketchy drawings of - what were then - futuristic buildings are lovely and dark - noir and art deco! It's a Dover paperback so not expensive to buy.