The Future of Architecture: Books That Inspire

The author examines the phenomenon of “Manhattanism.” Within this framework, the city is depicted as a complex living organism. By surgically dissecting skyscrapers, akin to whimsical architectural monsters, Koolhaas uncovers intricate robotic landscapes within them. A memorable story recounts how a wealthy resident of the upper floors desired a live cow for her party — and it had to be delivered via a convoluted route through the building's engineering pathways.

“The rabbit is the new beef!” — thus begins three radical essays on the contemporary city.

This book discusses “speculative design.” At its core lies social forecasting, with the fundamental mechanism of design being the construction of “What if?” scenarios. Thus, the authors do not attempt to predict the future but rather construct hypothetical worlds and engage in play within them.

Dutch architect Winy Maas teaches an architecture course at Delft University of Technology, where he collaborates with his students to develop models of future cities. Each such exploration is presented in the format of a large book. For instance, in my collection, there is “Skycar City” — a future city shaped by various flying mechanisms.

Pelevin is my favorite author! This book begins a series dedicated to the future, where humans live in banks and travel through virtual worlds.

An unprepared reader opening “The Hermetic Garage” might conclude that its author has lost his mind. Events unfold seemingly out of sequence, main characters abruptly disappear, only to be replaced by others. The dialogues are written in a strange style, peppered with terms that no one rushes to explain. Who are the deviant angels, the kidbergs, the bacalites? What are these “levels” about? What is this place, this era, this world?

This comic narrates the architecture of the future. The methods, processes, tools, and approaches to architectural concepts are as wild, limitless, and result-oriented as the world they inhabit.

A wild imagination exploring what the architectural cuisine of the future might be like.