phasis here is often on constructional aspects and the artist’s aim is apparently to
persuade the public of the viability of his proposal.
More interesting than these drawings are the numerous sketches that evoke
the construction principles of New Babylon rather than showing them in technical de-
tail. It is in these drawings that Constant is most successful in expressing the tension
and poetic power of structural forms. For instance, there is one striking drawing (fig-
ure 77) that plays two structural principles off against each other: on the one hand there
is a lattice column that covers a considerable area with its narrow connecting rods and
points of intersection, and on the other hand we see an extremely slender element
that looks like a vertical version of the logic of a three-pointed arch. Whether the latter
element really can have a supporting function is doubtful, but that is not the point here.
It is the interaction that gives this drawing its character—the interaction, that is, be-
tween these two forms and the pattern of lines of force they suggest. Similar remarks
might be made about a sketch from 1962 (figure 78) that illustrates a lattice construc-
tion for a sector of New Babylon set in a hilly landscape. Here too there are slender
structures and minimal suggestions of lines of force and support points. An Aufzugis
mentioned, suggesting an elevator linking the inhabited areas with the ground.
77
Constant, New Babylon,
drawing, 1962.
(Collection Gemeentemuseum,
The Hague, T44-X-1974.)
4
Architecture as Critique of Modernity