Anticipatory Architecture: Reyner Banham and Technological Futurism in Postwar and Contempoary Desig

The instrumental and aesthetic implications of architecture’s engagement with science and technology has a long history, part of which includes the period following the Second World War when the rapid technological advances of the Industrial Revolution merged with a general cultural mindset characterized by themes of progress and futurism. Given the significant technological advancements of the last twenty years, the postwar period provides a useful and poignant lens through which to take stock of our own technological climate. This paper examines the postwar period as a means of addressing issues related to contemporary design and 21st Century technological advancement.