 Modern cover | |
| Author | Hugh Ferriss |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Hugh Ferriss |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Architecture Futurology |
| Publisher | Ives Washburn |
Publication date | 1929 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 9780910413114 (1986 edition) |
The Metropolis of Tomorrow is a 1929 book written and illustrated by Hugh Ferriss. Prominently featuring 60 of Ferriss' drawings, the book is divided into three sections. The first, "Cities of Today", underscores the lack of planning in contemporary cities and the powerful psychological impact that cities have on their inhabitants while also profiling 18 influential modern buildings in five cities. The second section, "Projected Trends", prominently discusses practical concerns related to population density and traffic congestion, demonstrates Ferriss' adherence to some of the key elements of modern architecture (especially functionalism), and then analyzes projected trends in urban design that he supports, as well as a few that he opposes. The third and final section, "An Imaginary Metropolis", describes an ideal future city complete with towering skyscrapers spaced well apart from each other, broad avenues, and a strongly geometric city layout based around centers and sub-centers of buildings that are segregated by function.
First published by Ives Washburn in 1929, The Metropolis of Tomorrow was out of print long before the Princeton Architectural Press republished it in 1986. Contemporary critical reception to the book was mostly positive and enthusiastic, and generally regarded Ferriss' ideas for the future city as credible and even practical. While in the minority, negative contemporary reviews of the book significantly came mostly from proponents of the regional planning movement. Writing with the benefit of hindsight in 1986, architectural historian Carol Willis noted the strong connections between the first and second sections of the book ("Cities of Today" and "Projected Trends"), but criticized the final section ("An Imaginary Metropolis") as a flight of fantasy, both impracticable and lacking in nuance. Similarly, more recent reviewers have concentrated on "An Imaginary Metropolis", which they generally view as a fantasy which has had a strong influence on later architects and urban planners, and has also been influential to the appearance of futuristic cities in comic books and films.