The Law of Polarity holds good in relation to human society and cultures as well - everything has an opposite. Countercultures have erupted as condemnations of “the ways of the world”. A countercultural movement expresses the ethos and aspirations of a population during a specific time. As new lifestyles are explored, supporting architecture evolves to satiate the utopian ideals of new societies. Architecture is a product of the culture it is designed for.
Countercultures imply that societal norms can be passed and somehow revised, constantly in flux to meet evolving communal needs. Involved in the shaping of cultures, architects simultaneously reflect and create societal trends that manifest as buildings, cities, and systems that support new ways of living. Avant-garde architectural group Archigram’s work was conducive to a new approach to designing for utopian societies. The thinkers were much ahead of their time, expanding the boundaries of architecture’s influence on culture. Their designs, such as The Walking City and Plug-in-City, offer a glimpse into the limitless possibilities that communities can explore through design.
While Archigram’s counter-cultural designs remained in magazines and drawings, most movements across the world directly or indirectly influenced the surrounding built environment. Buildings and public areas provided a space for countercultures to expand physically and intellectually. Usually following political unrest, communities find a sense of belonging through organizing themselves - whether within the city as in the case of Berlin or in rural communes like the United States has seen. In either scenario, built and unbuilt space has lent itself to shaping cultures:
Berlin: Art and Music Counterculture
The fall of the Berlin Wall, a pivotal event in world history, brought along political changes, societal tensions, and a hunger for community and liberation. In the mid-1990s, Berlin’s planned development diminished, leaving behind derelict land and abandoned buildings for a counterculture to grow in. Underutilized spaces began to temporarily host a range of communal programs like open-air bars, ateliers, galleries, flea markets, gardens, music clubs, and sports facilities. Low rents attracted younger populations to support the growth of the city and its counterculture.
Berlin has earned the title “capital of temporary uses” following the many meanwhile-use spaces that arose after the wall came down. Vacant lots and buildings were a result of damage during the Second World War and the prevalent housing policy that prioritized new large-scale prefabricated buildings. This situation was leveraged by urban entrepreneurs, artists, squatters, students, and musicians, who began to utilize the vacant space for their own projects. What grew into Berlin’s famous techno club scene started off as temporary locations that allowed utopian alternatives to a conventional life. Meanwhile-use allowed buildings to be repurposed at cheaper rental fees, essentially permitting anyone to open a club in the 90s.
The post-industrial aesthetic of abandoned buildings depicts the rebellious counterculture born in Berlin. The architectural language of 1990s Berlin is characterized by a raw and sparse atmosphere created by steel and concrete structures, graffiti, exposed services, unpolished finishes, and makeshift furniture. The city’s temporary venues served as refuges for its people, solidifying the minimalistic and ascetic look and feel that continues to represent Berlin’s architecture and interior design.
United States: The Hippie Movement
The 1960s were an interesting time to live in the United States as the “hippie” youth movement proliferated. Marked by an ethos of harmony with nature, communal living, and artistic experimentation, the anti-establishment counterculture gained momentum with the civil rights movement in the United States and the intensification of the Vietnam War. The era unfolded into dynamic cultural forms of expression, from music and art to architecture and alternative lifestyles.
During this time, builders and planners gave form to the ideological shifts generated by the 1960s counterculture movement. The era was characterized by the rise of the back-to-land movement, turning away from activism and towards more ecological ways of life. Sustainability and minimal environmental impact were concepts that fueled the movement and were reflected in the architecture and utopian settlements that gradually cropped up.
Drop City - a communal living project in central USA - highlighted the ecological, humanitarian, and speculative ideals of the hippie movement. The rural commune was a scaled mutation of the architectural conceptions of Buckminster Fuller. Temporary architecture in the form of self-made zonohedron domes composed of scavenged material sheltered the artists' community. A fusion of avant-garde art and environmentalism, these geodesic domes were the first to be used for domestic living rather than exhibitions and industrial uses. Drop City was initially conceptualized as a prototype that could be replicated in other communes. The project lived a short life yet it influenced numerous experimental architecture projects such as Steve Baer’s Zome designs.
The American counterculture’s radical designs were built symbols that fought against the technocratic ways of the past. The architecture embodied these philosophies by taking on the forms of inflatables, geodesic domes, and vernacular construction that was rooted in an environmental context. Material efficiency was ensured by using glass, wood, and steel in limited amounts as part of structurally stable domes.
The cases of the US and Berlin highlight a common theme: temporality. Countercultures thrive on experimentation and freedom. Temporal spaces and structures allow for changing philosophies and growing movements. As with any culture, counter-movements have the ability to manifest as built forms which in turn support the larger cause. Architecture allows society to question contemporary lifestyles and physically mold futures that are more inclusive, sustainable, and equitable.
