People of many different professions and ideologies
throughout history have considered what the future holds for us as a
species. Much like a scientist looking
forward to new technologies and forms of energy, an architect may consider how
we’ll reside or a sociologist in how we interact with each other. This can be invoked by a single action /
inspiration and in turn spark a cultural shift for example; Modernism of the
1920s and its white-cubists structures was a significant change from the
earlier Arts and Crafts movement of the Victorian age with an intention to
create a style to unify people through architecture (aka the international
style).
Villa Savoye a Poissy, 1928-31, Le Corbusier. Photo taken February 2009
A little bit earlier than this movement, Futurism took the lead in the ideology of ‘looking forward’ towards new technologies and design choices that could be produced. Originally starting in 1909 Italy, a group of writers and artists (later adding architects) felt like the current trends in design where outmoded by the fast pace of change; with such things as cars and aircraft greatly improving one’s ability to traverse the world and experience more ideas. They were also influenced by materials, particularly glass concrete, and steel which in turn can be considered as a significant influence for the design eras that followed, like Modernism, Brutalism and Deconstructionism.
A little bit earlier than this movement, Futurism took the lead in the ideology of ‘looking forward’ towards new technologies and design choices that could be produced. Originally starting in 1909 Italy, a group of writers and artists (later adding architects) felt like the current trends in design where outmoded by the fast pace of change; with such things as cars and aircraft greatly improving one’s ability to traverse the world and experience more ideas. They were also influenced by materials, particularly glass concrete, and steel which in turn can be considered as a significant influence for the design eras that followed, like Modernism, Brutalism and Deconstructionism.
With this taken into context, there is a certain comparison that one can make when it comes to the aesthetics of Warframe’s environments alongside a range of architecture eras which prominently revolve around this evolution of futurism (futurism as an on-going design rather than directly the era itself).
Grineer
(Grineer Ship interior with Volt Warframe. Screenshot taken October 2014)
With the heavy industry aesthetics and reduction of the ‘frailty of flesh’ ethos presented by such people like Ruk, their tile sets do a great deal to present this to the player. The Grineer tile set design features exposed piping; machinery whirling as steam rises; and filtered lighting with a generally darker materiality. At a first glance, this could be tribute to a dystopian civilization which makes sense due to the nature of Grineer Hierarchy, but I feel like there’s a nice mix of 19th and 20th century influences. There’s the Victorian industrial revolution mentality of wanting to ‘show off’ the engineering (akin to Paddington station or Crystal Palace); 1940-60s Brutalism with its harsh materiality and strong presence aesthetically; and 1970-80s Deconstructionism shifting the Victorian ideology into Spartan art (such as the Lloyds building in London or Pompidou centre in Paris).
With the heavy industry aesthetics and reduction of the ‘frailty of flesh’ ethos presented by such people like Ruk, their tile sets do a great deal to present this to the player. The Grineer tile set design features exposed piping; machinery whirling as steam rises; and filtered lighting with a generally darker materiality. At a first glance, this could be tribute to a dystopian civilization which makes sense due to the nature of Grineer Hierarchy, but I feel like there’s a nice mix of 19th and 20th century influences. There’s the Victorian industrial revolution mentality of wanting to ‘show off’ the engineering (akin to Paddington station or Crystal Palace); 1940-60s Brutalism with its harsh materiality and strong presence aesthetically; and 1970-80s Deconstructionism shifting the Victorian ideology into Spartan art (such as the Lloyds building in London or Pompidou centre in Paris).
Corpus
(Corpus Ship Interior with Volt Warframe. Screenshot taken October 2014)
Corpus, in my opinion, has a more traditional future aesthetic with a ‘sci-fi’ feeling akin to books/TV/movies. Its colour pallet revolving around the blue / green hue mostly reinforces this aesthetic giving a clean, clerical mood behind the techno-religious cult it presents. I’ve not been too sure about which particular architectural styles it reminds me of, but if I was to settle on something I’d say that the modern day glazed spires of the world (such as The Shard of Glass or Gherkin in London) present this design; alongside a high-art monument ideology akin to Neil Leach’s “Nest and the Pillar of Fire” where architecture is closer to art, giving reason to its existence by existing.
Corpus, in my opinion, has a more traditional future aesthetic with a ‘sci-fi’ feeling akin to books/TV/movies. Its colour pallet revolving around the blue / green hue mostly reinforces this aesthetic giving a clean, clerical mood behind the techno-religious cult it presents. I’ve not been too sure about which particular architectural styles it reminds me of, but if I was to settle on something I’d say that the modern day glazed spires of the world (such as The Shard of Glass or Gherkin in London) present this design; alongside a high-art monument ideology akin to Neil Leach’s “Nest and the Pillar of Fire” where architecture is closer to art, giving reason to its existence by existing.
Orokin
(Orokin tile set with Volt Warframe. Screenshot taken October 2014)
The mysterious Orokin at first glance gives the impression of a church or similar holy structure; with its vast light levels and open spaces coinciding with flying archways. Even thou it is clearly in the vast future, to me this feels a bit like Gothic architecture and its strong play of light to reinforce a feeling of piousness and grandeur. I briefly did a post on the consideration of gothic in the past which you may want to look over, but this style resonates with me while I interact with this particular environment
The mysterious Orokin at first glance gives the impression of a church or similar holy structure; with its vast light levels and open spaces coinciding with flying archways. Even thou it is clearly in the vast future, to me this feels a bit like Gothic architecture and its strong play of light to reinforce a feeling of piousness and grandeur. I briefly did a post on the consideration of gothic in the past which you may want to look over, but this style resonates with me while I interact with this particular environment
With all this being said, when it comes to the future of
architecture, there is one area I feel could be experimented with on both a
visual and theoretical level. This is
the world of Archigram and its take on what the future holds.
Archigram (or architectural comics sometimes referred to as)
was an architectural movement started during the 1960s which discussed the
medium in relation to its connection with popular culture. Its ideas were for the majority created on
paper via conventional methods (pencil to paper) or collage / montage which
followed an ideology of being modular and adaptable. In its early years, it was influenced heavily
by pop-art, which gave way to strong, bright colours and unconventional design
which look striking even today. One particular
example (A Walking City, 1964) features large, bug-like structures carrying its
population around connected to others via a series of tubes for transport
against a backdrop of a conventional city like New York, producing a nice contrast
between the two.
In summary, the future is always an interesting thing to
consider from both a technological/scientific and artistic/aesthetic manner as
they naturally seep into each other. Many
people have considered what the future will look like and Warframe presents an
interesting range of architectural design choices across the ages. That being said, I would be interested to see
what could be accomplished taking a page from Archigram and marrying culture
with technology. I hope that this piece
has been an interesting look into the world of architectural futurism and I
shall see you next week
Links / further reading
* Warframe Digital Extremes (2012-ongoing), PC, PS4, Xbox One
* Archigram Not a great website, but gives examples of Archigram. Otherwise, a quick google search will present many examples
* Leach, N. Dark Side of the Domus. This maybe slightly abstract in this context, but you may find it interesting
Links / further reading
* Warframe Digital Extremes (2012-ongoing), PC, PS4, Xbox One
* Archigram Not a great website, but gives examples of Archigram. Otherwise, a quick google search will present many examples
* Leach, N. Dark Side of the Domus. This maybe slightly abstract in this context, but you may find it interesting
I found this article today while trying to research weather or not warframe was drawing inpiration from futurist art because it's not hard to notice similarities between futurist sculpture and Warframes aesthetic. I would highly recommend looking into Umberto Boccioni's sculpture "Unique forms of Continuity in space,(1909)" as I feel it is direct inspiration for the early warfames like Excalibur and Rhino.
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