BROADACRE

CITY

FRANK LLYOD WRIGHT’S UTOPIAN DYSTOPIA

INTRODUCTION
FRANK LLYOD WRIGHT
• (JUNE 8,1867-APRIL 9,1959)
• WAS AN AMERICAN ARCHITECT,INTERIOR DESIGNER,
WRITER AND EDUCATOR, WHO DESIGNED MORE
THAN 1,000 STRUCTURES, 532 OF WHICH WERE
COMPLETED. WRIGHT BELIEVED IN DESIGNING
STRUCTURES THAT WERE IN HARMONY WITH
HUMANITY AND IT’S ENVIRONMENT, A PHILOSOPHY
HE CALLED ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE. THE
PHILISOPHY WAS BEST EXEMPLIFIED BY
FALLINGWATER, WHICH HAS BEEN CALLED “THE BEST
ALL-TIME WORK OF AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE.”
• HIS CREATIVE PERIOD SPANNED MORE THAN 70
YEARS.
BROADACRE CITY
• BROADACRE CITY (braad-ei-kr) WAS AN URBAN OR SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
PROPOSED BY FRANK LLYOD WRIGHT THROUGHOUT MOST OF HIS LIFETIME.
• A MODEL OF FOUR SQUARE MILES OF A TYPICAL COUNTRYSIDE DEVELOPED ON THE ACRE AS
UNIT ACCORDING TO CONDITIONS IN TEMPERATURE ZONE AND ACCOMODATING AROUND 1,400
FAMILIES.
• HE PRESENTED THIS IN HIS BOOK THE DISAPPEARING CITY.
• A FEW YEARS LATER HE UNVEILED A VERY DETAILED TWELVE BY TWELVE FOOT(3.7x3.7 m) SCALE
MODEL REPRESENTING A HYPOTHETICAL FOUR SQUARE MILE COMMUNITY.
ORIGIN
• BECAUSE OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS, WRIGHT CAME TO BELIEVE THAT
THE LARGE, CENTRALIZED CITY WOULD SOON BECOME OBSOLETE AND PEOPLE
WOULD RETURN TO THEIR RURAL ROOTS.
• WRIGHT DESPISED THE CITY, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND METAPHORICALLY.
ASPECTS OF BROADACRE CITY
THAT BECAME REALITIES
MODERN SUBURBIA MAY HAVE MANY DIFFERENCES WITH BROADACRE, BUT THERE ARE
ALSO MANY SIMILARITIES.
• SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES ON LARGER PARCELS OF LAND WITH SMALLER ROADS CONNECTING TO LARGER
ROADS CONNECTING TO FREEWAYS.
• BEING ABLE TO OWN LAND, BUILD A HOME, AND DO WHAT YOU PLEASE WITH IT WERE IMPORTANT IN
BROADACRE CITY.
• WRIGHT BELIEVED THAT MODERN MAN HAD THE RIGHT TO OWN A CAR AND TO BURN AS MUCH GASOLINE
IN DRIVING IT AS HE DESIRED
• THE CITY PLAN
• AGRARIAN URBANISM
BROADACRE CITY LAYOUT
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• BROADACRE CITY EACH FAMILY IS GIVEN ONE ACRE OF LAND ON WHICH TO BUILD
A HOUSE AND GROW FOOD. THE CITY WAS CONSIDERED TO FULLY SELF-
SUFFICIENT.
• “MORE LIGHT, MORE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND A MORE GENERAL SPATIAL
FREEDOM IN THE IDEAL ESTABLISHMENT OF WHAT WE CALL CIVILIZATION.”
THE PRINCIPLES OF BROADACRE CITY

• DECENTRALIZATION AND REDISTRIBUTION.

• SYMMETRY WITH RHYTHM, NO STANDARDIZATION
• ARCHITECTURAL REINTERGRATION
• FREE USE OF THE GROUND
• PUBLIC UTILITIESAND GOVERNMENT ITSELF OWNED BY THE PEOPLE OF
BROADACRE CITY(THE ARCHITECT IS THE AGENT OF THE STATE)
• ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BROADACRE CITY

• QUALITY OF THE BUILDINGS IS THE SAME

• COORDINATION WHEREIN ALL ARE EMPLOYED
• ALL PUBLIC UTILITIES ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE HANDS OF THE COUNTY
GOVERNMENT.
• MATERIALS USED AT CONSTRUCTIONS: FIREPROOF MATERIALS, GLASS, COPPER
• EVERY CITIZEN HAS HIS OWN CAR
 THE COMPONENTS OF BROADACRE CITY
• HOUSES- 4 TYPES(SMALLER HOUSES, MINIMUM
HOUSES, MEDIUM HOUSES,& LARGER HOUSES)
• FARMS
• FACTORIES
• MARKETS
• TRAFFIC- MULTIPLE-LANE HIGHWAYS; NO
GRADE CROSSING; NO SIGNALS OR LAMP-
POSTS
• TRAINS ONLY FOR LONG-DISTANCE; AERATOR
• SCHOOLS PLACED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE
CITY; INCLUDE ART GALLERIES, CONCERT
HALL, GARDENS, ZOO, POOLS AND GREEN
PLAYGROUND.
FAILURES AND DISADVANTAGES

• TOO REAL TO BE UTAPIAN AND TOO DREAMLIKE TO BE OF PRACTICAL

IMPORTANCE.
• DEMANDS MOTOR TRANSPORTATION FOR EVEN THE MOST CASUAL OR
EPHEMERICAL MEETINGS
• DIDN’T SEE THE LARGE POPULATION INCREASE FROM 2B IN 1930 – 7B PRESENT
TIME, INCREASE IN FUEL PRICES, ENVIRONMENTAL REPERCUSSIONS.
RADICAL
PLANNING
DEFINITION
RADICAL PLANNING
IS A STREAM OF URBAN PLANNING WHICH SEEKS TO MANAGE
DEVELOPMENT IN AN EQUITABLE AND COMMUNITY-BASED MANNER.
HISTORY
RADICAL PLANNING
THE RADICAL PLANNING MOVEMENT IS FOUNDATIONS FOR A RADICAL CONCEPT PLANNING (1973),
BY STEPHEN GRABOW AND ALLEN HESKIN
IN 1987 JOHN FRIEDMAN ENTERED THE FRAY WITH PLANNING IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: FROM
KNOWLEGDE TO ACTION, PROMOTING A RADICAL PLANNING MODEL BASED ON
“DECOLONIZATION”, “DEMOCRATIZATION”,”SELF EMPOWERMENT “AND “REACHING OUT”.
HISTORY
FRIEDMAN DESCRIBED THIS MODEL AS AN AGROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT
PARADIGM, EMPHASIZING THE RELOCATION OF PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND
MANUFACTURE.
• IN “TOWARD A NON EUCLIDIAN MODE OF PLANNING”(1993) FRIEDMAN FURTHER PROMOTED
THE URGENCY OF DECENTRALIZING PLANNING, ADVOCATING A PLANNING PARADIGM THAT IS
NORMATIVE, INNOVATIVE, POLITICAL, TRANSACTIVE, AND BASED ON A SOCIAL LEARNING
APPROACH TO KNOWLEDGE AND POLICY.
PRINCPLES
• RADICALISMTAKES TRANSACTIVITISM TO ITS LOGICAL EXTREME.
• HATES HIERARCHICAL BUREAUCRACIES, CENTRALIZED PLANNING, AND
DOMINEERING PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS.
• URGES THAT PLANNING IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN IT IS PERFORMED BY NON-
PROFESSIONAL NEIGBORHOOD PLANNING COMMITTEESTHAT EMPOWER COMMON
CITIZENSTO EXPERIMENT WITH SOLVING THEIR OWN PROBLEMS
• THE IDEAL OUTCOMES OF THIS PROCESS ARE COLLECTIVE ACTIONS THAT PROMOTE
SELF RELIANCE.
 BASIS OF A PROPOSED NEW
PARADIGM

• SYSTEMS CHANGE
• DECENTRALIZATION
• COMMUNAL SOCIETY
• FACILITATION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
• CONSIDERATION OF ECOLOGY
RADICAL IDEAS
SCIENCE CITIES
• PROPOSED BY THE “METABOLISM GROUP” --- VISIONARY URBAN DESIGNERS
THAT PROPOSED UNDERWATER CITIES, “BIOLOGICAL” CITIES, CITIES IN
PYRAMIDS, ETC.
RADICAL IDEAS
THE FLOATING CITY
(KIYONORI KIKUTAKE)
• A CITY THAT WOULD FLOAT FREE IN THE OCEAN
AND WOULD BE FREE OF TIES TO A PARTICULAR
NATION AND THEREFORE FREE FROM THE THREAT
OF WAR.
• THE ARTIFICIAL GROUND OF THE CITY WOULD
HOUSE AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY AND
ENTERTAINMENT AND THE RESIDENTIAL TOWERS
WOULD DESCEND INTO THE OCEAN TO A DEPTH OF
200 METRES
RADICAL IDEAS
THE FLOATING CITY
(KIYONORI KIKUTAKE)
• THE CITY ITSELF WAS NOT TIED TO THE LAND AND
WAS FREE TO FLOAT ACROSS THE OCEAN AND
GROW ORGANICALLY LIKE AN ORGANISM.
• ONCE IT BECAME TOO AGED FOR
HABITATION IT WOULD SINK ITSELF
RADICAL IDEAS
THE BARBICAN CITY
• A 63 ACRE AREA MIXED USED
DEVELOPMENT THAT WAS BUILT IN
RESPONSE TO THE PRESSURES OF THE
AUTOMOBILE.
• AN EARLY TYPE OF PLANNED URBAN
DEVELOPMENT THAT HAD ALL
AMENITIES IN ONE COMPOUND WITH
MULTI-LEVEL CIRCULATION PATTERNS.
IDENTIFICATION
1. AN URBAN OR SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT PROPOSED BY FRANK LLYOD WRIGHT
2. THE ORIGIN OF BROADACRE CITY.
3. AN ARCHITECT WHO PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF BROADACRE CITY.
4-6. GIVE 3 PRINCIPLES OF BROADACRE CITY.
8-10. GIVEE 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF BROADACRE CITY.
11. IS A STREAM OF URBAN PLANNING WHICH SEEKS TO MANAGE DEVELOPMENT IN AN EQUITABLE
AND COMMUNITY-BASED MANNER.
12. IN 1987 HE ENTERED THE FRAY WITH PLANNING IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
13-15. GIVE 3 BASIS OF A PROPOSED NEW PARADIGM.
16. PROPOSED BY THE “METABOLISM GROUP”
17-18. JAPANESE ARCHITECT OF FLOATING CITY.
19-20. GIVE 1 PRINCIPLE OF RADICAL PLANNING.
ANSWERS
11. RADICAL PLANNING
1. BROADACRE CITY 12. JOHN FRIEDMAN
2. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT 13-15.
3. FRANK LLYOD WRIGHT • SYSTEMS CHANGE
4-7. • DECENTRALIZATION
• DECENTRALIZATION AND REDISTRIBUTION. • COMMUNAL SOCIETY
• SYMMETRY WITH RHYTHM, NO STANDARDIZATION • FACILITATION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
• ARCHITECTURAL REINTERGRATION • CONSIDERATION OF ECOLOGY
• FREE USE OF THE GROUND 16. SCIENCE CITIES
• PUBLIC UTILITIESAND GOVERNMENT ITSELF OWNED 17-18. KIYONORI KIKUTAKE
19-20.
BY THE PEOPLE OF BROADACRE CITY(THE
• RADICALISM TAKES TRANSACTIVITISM TO ITS
ARCHITECT IS THE AGENT OF THE STATE) LOGICAL EXTREME.
• ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE • HATES HIERARCHICAL BUREAUCRACIES,
8-10. CENTRALIZED PLANNING, AND DOMINEERING
• QUALITY OF THE BUILDINGS IS THE SAME PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS.
• COORDINATION WHEREIN ALL ARE EMPLOYED • URGES THAT PLANNING IS MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN IT
• ALL PUBLIC UTILITIES ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE IS PERFORMED BY NON-PROFESSIONAL
HANDS OF THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT. NEIGBORHOOD PLANNING COMMITTEES THAT
• MATERIALS USED AT CONSTRUCTIONS: FIREPROOF EMPOWER COMMON CITIZENSTO EXPERIMENT WITH
SOLVING THEIR OWN PROBLEMS
MATERIALS, GLASS, COPPER
• THE IDEAL OUTCOMES OF THIS PROCESS ARE
• EVERY CITIZEN HAS HIS OWN CAR COLLECTIVE ACTIONS THAT PROMOTE SELF
RELIANCE.