S
omeofmyfavourite
thingsontheplanetare
historicalmissteps,grand
ideasbasedonfuture
predictionsthatturnedoutto
bewideofthemark.I’velong
beenfascinatedbyretrovisions
ofthefuture,architecturalor
designplansexecutedwith
blisteringconfidence,anddazzling
wrongness,thattodaylinger
asmonumentstoourown
misguidedness.Anideathatboldly
strodeintothefuture,onlytogaze
overitsshoulderandseesociety
settingoffona differentroute.
Oneofmyfavourite
architecturalclangersis the
FuturoHouse,a roundpre-fab
cabinshapedlikea flyingsaucer- completewithlongspindlylegs
andaeroplanehatchentrance–
designedbyFinnisharchitect
MattiSuuroneninthelate1960s.
A productofpost-warFinland,
the Futuro House or Futuro Pod
wasconceivedasa mobileski
chalet(everyoneneedsone!)and
marketedtoaffluentyoungadults.
Suuronen’sbig,boldidea,
a futurebasedona ferventfaithin
moderntechnologyandanequally
ferventfaithinthespendingpower
ofanemergingleisure-oriented
society,wasimmediatelygiven
a lukewarmgreetingbythepresent.
Humankindstubbornlyrefused
toevolveintoanarmyofski
obsessivesinhabitingweatherproof
UFOcabins.Plasticwasnolonger
hipbythelate1960s,lessof
a space-agewonder-materialand
moreofanuglyecologicalfaux
pas,andthe 1973 OilCrisishalted
plasticproductioninitstracks.
Butthismistakehasbroughtme
noendofjoy.It pleasesmegreatly
tothinkoftheseodd,plasticky
1960sUFOhomesdottedaround
theplanetinimprobablelocations.
Sevenoftheworld’sfleetof 63
Futurohouseseventuallyfound
theirwaytoAustralia.One
specimen can be gleefully creepedoverontheInstagrampageofthe
NaikoRetreatontheFleurieu
Peninsula.Takea lookat this
failure;whata triumphit is.
InLondon,oneofmyfavourite
spotsis theBarbicanEstate,
a residentialcomplexof2,000flats
andmaisonettesadjacenttothe
Barbicanperformingartscentre,
thelargestofitskindinEurope.
Thehousingcomplexwas
conceivedinthelate1950s,but
bythetimethefinaltowerwas
completedin 1976 thespaceage
wasancienthistory,andaffluent
Londonersdidn’twantself-
containedBrutalistconcreteflats
toshimmyaround,cladinwhite
Barbarellaknee-highbootsand
MaryQuantminidresses.They
wantedtowaftaroundtheirveg
patchesinLauraAshleyflorals
at theircountrycottagesin
HampsteadorSurrey.In2003,
theBarbicanwasvotedLondon’s
Ugliest Building,butnow,finally,
it’sbackin
vogue.Butthe
Barbicanhasnot
hadaneasyride,
andhasbeen
considered
a gargantuanconcretefailurefor
manymoreyearsthanit hasbeen
consideredkindofcool.Afterall,
industrial,economicandsocial
progresscantakeplacefasterthan
contractorscanconstructbuildings.
Andhumandaydreams,ambitions
andaspirationsareficklethings
indeed.Daydreamsarea dangerous
thingtobeton.
A coupleofyearsagoI travelled
toLanzarotetotourtheavant-
gardearchitecturalmasterpieces
ofCésarManrique,myfavourite
beingtheJameosdelAgua,a vast
undergroundcavegrottocomplete
withrestaurant,disco,fakebeach
and600-seatconcerthall.
Obviously,it’simpossiblenotto
laughat theDJboothcarvedout
ofrock,a sortofFlintstones-meets-
Jetsonsvisionofa cartoonfuture
thatnevercame.Buttheseretro
visionsofthefuturealsomakeme
wistful,becausethey’reallutopian
tosomedegree.They’reallvisions
ofthefuturedesignedtomakeus
more cultured, more community-minded,moreleisure-oriented.
Retrovisionsofthefutureare
heart-on-sleevedisplaysofhope
forhumanity– buthumanityfell
shortoftheirpredictions.These
architectsanddesignersand
entrepreneursdidn’tdisappoint
us;wedisappointedthem.
I’mnotsayingthattheworld
wouldbea betterplaceif weall
livedinplasticUFOskichalets,
droveDeLoreancars,travelled
toworkbyjetpackanddeparted
onholidaysviaZeppelin.ButI am
gratefulforeveryoneofthese
grandfailedexperiments,these
mistakesandmissteps.
Theseoutrageousfailuresshow
ushowcreativewecanbeaswe
trytobuilda newfuture.
Andnow,whenthefuture
feelsunpredictable,andwe’re
facedwithrebuildingtheeconomy,
thehospitalitysector,thetravel
industry,theperformingarts,the
educationsystemandevenfamily
life,I’mprayingthatwedareto
dreambig.I’mhopingwemake
somereallybig,beautifulmistakes
inthenextcoupleofyears.
Becauseif wearen’talreadygetting
somethingswrong,wearen’t
workinghardenough.Anabsence
offailuresdoesn’tequateto
success;it meanswe’replayingit
toosafe,refusingtoallowidealism
in,trappedintheconfinesof
a collectivecrisisofconfidence.
Thefutureis wideopen,and
if wearen’tmakingmistakes,
we’re making a mistake.●Annais a traveland
lifestylejournalist,
andauthorofthe
travelmemoir
Departures.
@annadothartAnd now,whenthefuturefeelsunpredictable,
and we’refacedwithrebuildingthe economy,
I’m praying that we dare to dream big.ILLUSTRATION GETTY IMAGES.