Modern Ties with Future Scenarios

The presented article for this week by H. Barton (Urban Form and Locality, 2000) was a much more grounded approach to the concept of architectural fiction, providing a more tangible idea with which to grasp. The ideas presented were much more realistic and relatable to modern architecture and urbanism than "Beyond Architecture", focusing on self-sufficient communities rural communities versus increasingly dense urban areas. The idea was to question whether it is more practical to sprawl and develop green space, or to further develop populous areas, or “brown space”.

However, the article is quick to brush green space development off as a bad option in such a way that their strong bias towards “urban intensification” becomes obvious despite a lack of exploration in the possibilities of rural developments.

This discussion opens up an entirely new perspective into the consideration of future scenarios by reiterating the point that although the fictional concept we are to produce may be extreme, it is also important to relate to fundamental modern issues and their potential solutions. Something as simple as the idea of a self sufficient community can transition into a more complex idea, which can be commonly seen in the design of conceptual vertical farms as seen below. 

Image Source:  http://grinding.be/2009/12/02/skyscraper-vertical-farm-planned-for-china/