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8/11/2019 Constant's New Babylon, The Visualization of Nomadic Dynamics
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CONSTANTS NEW BABYLON
The visualization of nomadic dynamics
Design and visuality
A. A. Nikolaeva
Essay
26-10-2013
Marjolein Manintveld
2088797
1st major: Cultural Studies
2nd major: Fine Arts
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Table of Contents
Introduct ion ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 3
Method .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Constant Nieuwenhuys and New Babylon ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 6
The visual izat ion of New Babylons f lux ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 8
Conclusion ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 14
Bibl iograpy ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 15
Attachments ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 17
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Introduction
In this essay I will focus on the visionary and utopian architectural project New
Babylon, developed between 1956 and 1974 by the Dutch artist ConstantNieuwenhuys. According to Zegher, Constant stated to envision a world wide
city for the future where land is owned collectively, work is fully automated and
the need to work is being replaced with a nomadic life of creative play. New
Babylon is inhabited by the Homo Ludens, who, freed from labor, can be
creative in the daily practice of their life.1
According to Wigley, Constant used different media to visualize New
Babylon.2Especially the models and drawings are interesting to explore
because, according to Conway, drawings and models have one major function
in common, namely that they are the means by which an architect conveys his
idea to the public and by which he develops those ideas. Moreover, drawings,
and in my opinion also paintings, allow us to enter New Babylon, even though
it has not been a realized project.3Thirdly, the maps might visualize what is not
present in the models, paintings and drawings. This is why I will focus on and
discuss his models, maps, drawings and paintings and hereby I shall disregard
other media, such as lithographs, plans, sections and photographs.
I will answer the following research question: How do the models
maps drawings and paintings represent Constant Nieuwenhuy ss
concept of New Babylon as a dynamic city where nomadic
inhabitants are constantly re-shaping and wandering around? I will
answer this main question by exploring different aspects of the models, maps
drawings and paintings. First, I will introduce Constant Nieuwenhuys and his
work, subsequently I will answer the question: What do the models, maps,
drawings and paintings look like and for what purpose did Constant
Nieuwenhuys create them? I will focus on their role in the design process of
New Babylon. Thereafter, I will answer the question of how Constant
communicates his concept of New Babylon as a dynamic city that is
1Zegher 2001, p. 9.2Wigley 2001, p. 27.2Wigley 2001, p. 27.3Conway 2004, p. 185.
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transformed by the inhabitants to the public through these media. I will address
how these media complement and oppose each other. In the conclusion I will
work out an answer to the main question.
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Method
My method for answering the research question and sub questions will be a
literature study. I will analyze what established authors like Mark Wigley, AnthonyVidler and Thomas McDonough have said about the models, maps, drawings
and paintings in The Activist Drawing: Retracing Situationist Architecture from
Constants New Babylon and to Beyond. In addition I will inquire what Hilde
Heynen concludes in New Babylon of de antinomien van de utopie. I will
place these findings besides data from articles that discuss these media in
general. With these findings I will substantiate my argument and based on this I
will answer the main question.
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Constant Nieuwenhuys and New Babylon
Constant Nieuwenhuys was a member of the COBRA movement and part of the
Situationist International, which mainly focused on unitary urbanism. Accordingto Heynen unitary urbanism constitutes a critique on the practices of modernist
urbanism and was a counterpart of functionalist architecture. New Babylon is a
long-term project that is a striking example of this because it is a dynamic world
where the Homo Ludens will be free to collectively create and re-shape their
environment.4
Chtcheglov adds to this that in unitary urbanism the architectural forms
will be loaded with symbols and emotions. Therefore districts of New Babylon
will be named after certain feelings, for example the Happy district, the Tragic
district and the Bizarre district. A key practice in this context is drive, to
wander, as Guy Debord described: drive happens within a fixed time
(preferably a day), by a small group that is led by a certain system but also by
chance. The goal is to form a way through the city without specific intentions to
provoke unexpected turns and meetings.5New Babylon would be the
appropriate setting for the practice of wandering.6
According to Heynen and Wigley, Constant Nieuwenhuys worked for
over 20 years on a representation of New Babylon through a multitude of
models, maps, drawings and paintings.7Constant did not see New Babylon as
an immediately realizable project, therefore New Babylon should be seen as a
visualization of a possible future world. In short, the functions of these media in
the design process is that Constant hereby is able to visualize the outlines of a
future form of society.8Vidler states in addition that these media allow us to see
how the project developed in the artists mind.9
4Heynen 1995, p. 36.5Sssmann 1995 as cited in Heynen 1995, p. 38.6McDonough 2001, p. 937Heynen 1995, p. 39, p. 42, Wigley 2001, p. 27, Vidler 2001, p. 83.8Heynen 1995, p. 40 - 43.9Vidler 2001, p. 83.
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According to Heyen, Constants idea of this new society takes the shape
of a dynamic labyrinth in the form of chains and sectors that are created and
adjusted by the Homo Ludens and subsequently will gradually cover the earths
surface. Consequently, no one is able to return to a place he or she has visitedbefore.10In other words, New Babylon is defined by the fleeting and the
contingent11. In this sense, as later described by architectural historian Michel
Ragon, Constants designs serve as the basis of a system of mobile
construction allowing for the setting up and dismantling of standardized
elements.12As a
result it interesting to
explore how Constant
visualizes the
dynamics of a
nomadic lifestyle
through his models,
maps, drawings and
paintings.
Constant Nieuwenhuys in his studio
10Heynen 1995, p. 40.11McDonough 2001, p. 100.12Ragon 1974 as cited in McDonough 2001, p. 93 - 94.
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The visual izat ion of New Babylons f lux
Models
Wigley states that New Babylon first appeared as a group of architecturalmodels, each representing a different sector13. According to Heynen the models
take many forms. The first model regarding New Babylon is that for a gypsy
camp in Alba from 1956, showing an umbrella-shaped transparent construction
that covers a spiral shape.14The Spatiovores from still have the same round
shape, although here the most important feature is a transparent shell structure
that rises above ground.15Within the shells we can see floorboards of plexiglas
that are held together by wires. These models visualize huge constructions with
a huge surface that are lifted meters above ground. Heynen states that the
Spatiovores are autonomous elements and therefore take an unusual position
within New Babylon, this because the other models are conceived as parts of
sectors, for example the model of the Orange sector.16
Remarkable in relation with the visualization of dynamics are the models of
labyrinthine spaces, such as the small labyrinth and themobile ladder labyrinth.17
According to Heynen and Vidler, a key function of these models in the design
process is to visualize and evoke an atmosphere of a nomadic lifestyle, where
departure and arrival plays a central role.18A quote by Constant about Schiphol
will clarify this thought: The airport of
today can be seen as the anticipatory
image of the city of tomorrow, the city
of man passing through.19This
atmosphere is explicitly visible in the
modelAmbiance de dpart (image 6).
6.Ambiance de dpart (Ambience of departure), 1959
13Wigley 2001 p. 27.14Attachment image 1.15Attachment image 2.16Attachment image 3.17Heynen 1995, p. 44, attachment image 4 & 518Heynen 1995, p. 44, Vidler 2001, p. 89, McDonough 2001, p. 96.19Constant 1973 as cited in McDonough 2001, p. 97.
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What stands out regarding the main question is that the models are composed
of overflowing rooms of various sizes in which the Homo Ludens can move
freely.20
Heynen states that the tension between the larger structures that arefixed and the smaller-scale interior structures that are flexible and labyrinthine is
not always fully worked out.21Besides it is important to take into account that,
according to Conway, models can be very seductive because they represent
ideal structures that are not placed within context.22McDonough adds to this
that any model of this city falsifies the project in its emphasis on precisely what
is meant to be invisible, a mere framework containing the varied, unplanned
activities of the inhabitants.23Constant also recognized these problems, as he
states that the structures are anything but permanent. It is effectively a matter
of a microstructure in continuous transformation, in which the time factor the
fourth dimension plays a considerable role.24In short, the models are static
representations that do not represent the re-shaping ability that is key to the
concept of New Babylon. For these shortcomings Constant chose to continue
with different media.
Maps
Maps can complement the models, as Pickles exemplifies that maps have been
used for various reasons, in my opinion the maps allow to visualize the spatial
order of New Babylon.25Pickles also states it is difficult to map something that
is always on the move, so lets explore how Constant Nieuwenhuys mapped the
movement of the inhabitants.
According to Heynen the maps that Constant created in order to visualize
New Babylon show a sequence of chains and structures. The maps exist on
various scales, going from a European dimension, such as in New Babylon/Ruhr
area(image 6), to reflections on specific cities, such as Amsterdam, Antwerp
20Heynen 1995, p. 44.21Heynen 1995, p. 44.22Conway 2004, p.23McDonough 2001, p. 97.24Constant 1965 as cited in McDonough 2001, p. 97 98.25Pickles, 2004, p. 9.
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and Paris.26Sometimes they are against an abstract background, at other times
they are placed on contemporary or historical maps.27Moreover, Constant
created collages in which the sectors are formed by parts of other city plans, for
example in the Symbolic representation of New Babylon (image 11).In the Symbolic representation of New Babylonwe see fragments of
existing city maps, where it is possible to recognize certain parts of cities as
Amsterdam, Berlin and London, placed on a minimal background. According to
Heynen, it is like Constant herewith suggests that New Babylon will unite the
qualities of these cities. The maps show that public spaces are most important
and that private spaces are reduced to the absolute minimum.28Moreover,
Wigley states that the map itself has become three-dimensional and a
visualization of movement by the use of red arrows, which mark the
transportation from one point to another.29Thus the maps visualize something
that is not represented in the models and vice versa, the maps do not visualize
the exterior of the sectors but they do visualize particularly the relationship
between spaces because they offer a geographical representation. Moreover,
the movements that are possible in New Babylon are represented.
7. New Babylon/Ruhrgebiet(Ruhr area), 1963 12. Symbolische voorstelling van New Babylon
(Symbolic representation of New Babylon), 1969 (detail)
26Attachment image 8, 9 & 10.27Attachment image 11.28Heynen 1995, p. 42.29Wigley 2001, p. 48.
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Drawings
The reason for Constant Nieuwenhuys to visualize New Babylon through
drawings has to do with the fact that drawings can make abstract ideas
concrete.30
According to Heynen we can distinct different categories in thedrawing. Regarding the visualization of dynamics, the following category is the
most interesting: the drawings that give an impression of the spatial experience
of New Babylon. These often emphasize on dynamic and mobility elements
such as stairs, ladders, lifts and flexible walls, as we see in Interieur New
Babylon.31
According to Heynen, the thing that is characteristic of these drawings is
the tension they represent, that implies the dark side of life in New Babylon.
Regarding this it is useful to discuss Goodmans theory on representation in art,
especially his concept of exemplification, which expresses reference. According
to Goodmans theory, style literally exemplifies the shapes, colors, and
contrasts, and subsequently metaphorically exemplifies something else, what he
calls artistic expression.32In the case of these drawings, the dynamic lines and
the contrast of dark and light metaphorically exemplify feelings of chaos and
unease. This sense of unease is also evoked by inter alia the infinity of the
interior space, in which one could get lost indefinitely and that does not seem to
allow contact with the outside world.
As a result, as Heynen states, the drawings are, more than the models,
revisions of Constants story about a utopian world.33On the other hand, Wigley
has the opinion that neither in the drawings nomadic dynamics can be
represented, as Constant proposes only his view of absolute freedom34. I think
Wigley makes an important point that is also exemplified by Allen, who states
that an architectural drawing always falls short in representing complexity of
movement in time, although, notation can allow visualizing time.35In my opinion
we should therefore explore in which way the drawings progressed from the
fixed models by the means of a notational system.
30Allen 2000, p. 32.31Attachment image 13.32Winget, 2005, p. 6, Goodman, 1976, p. 84 90.33Heynen 1995, p. 45 - 46.34Wigley 2001, p. 29.35Allen, 2000, p. 32 - 42.
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McDonough states that the most important drawing regarding the
representing of the passing phenomena is Labyratorium (image 14).
McDonough exemplifies it is not a perspectival drawing, instead the forms lie on
the white surface of paper that suggests an alterable space. The notationalsystem represents a constant flux through sliding mirrors, a screen of
radiance, temperature through transmission of air currents and sound through
atmospheric obstacles. According to McDonough Constant allows the fourth
dimension of time by
resisting the snap-
shot.36Summarily, the
visualization of the
transformation of New
Babylon is for the first
time represented
through the media of
drawing, in contrasts
with the models and
maps.
14. Labyratoire (Labyratorium), 1962-1963
Paintings
Constant continued to visualize New Babylon, at last through the media of
painting. Heynen states that also the paintings, as the drawings, are a revision of
the idea of the utopia of New Babylon. The paintings show the same kind of
dynamics as the drawings I discussed, there are works that include the
labyrinthine interior containing the ladders. However, they should not be
considered as outright illustrations of the life in New Babylon, they rather are a
reflection on New Babylon.37In Fiesta Gitana from 1958 the vivid, colorful spots
represent outbursts of joy.38Also here an undeniably dark undertone is present,
36McDonough 2001, p. 9837Heynen 1995, p. 46.38Attachment image 15.
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as if Constant wants to visualize that party and violence, joy and chaos and
creativity and destruction are inevitably linked.39This is again the methaphorical
exemplification, in the case of these paintings the daubs of paint and the
contrast of dark and light express the feelings described above.According to Heynen the dark undertone is even more present in the
labyrinthine paintings. Ode lOdon(image 15) evokes the image of an endless
space, with human silhouettes wandering through it without any purpose. As a
result of the absence of perspective the perception of space is ambiguous and
unclear. Subsequently,
Terrain vague from 1973
can be interpreted as the
farewell of New Babylon,
as we see an almost
apocalyptic space with on
the foreground spots and
lines that seem remnants
of a recent event. In the
distance, barely
recognizable, we see the
remains of a structure of
a New-Babylon.40 16. Ode lOdon (Ode to the Odon),1969
Heynen states that the impossibility of utopia becomes visible in the paintings.
The complexity of a nomadic lifestyle where every inhabitant is able to re-shape
its environment is visualized. This is already visible in the drawings but it comes
to full expression in the paintings. According to Heynen, the paintings thereby
make visible what is hidden in the models (and maps): that this utopian world is
not perfect and harmonious.41
39Heynen 1995, p. 46 - 47.40Heynen 1995, p. 46 - 47.41Heynen 1995, p. 48.
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Conclusion
The exploration of the models, maps, drawings and paintings that Constant
Nieuwenhuys created in order to visualize the concept of New Babylon as adynamic city where nomadic inhabitants are constantly re-shaping and
wandering around has revealed interesting findings. The models are idealized
representations of the sectors that will form New Babylon, they visualize
movement because they are composed of overflowing rooms in which the
Homo Ludens can move freely. On the other hand, the models are insufficient to
represent transformation, as they are static and fixed. They function as a mere
framework, but other media need to complement the models. The maps do this
in the sense that they visualize the relationship between spaces and moreover,
the dynamic movements of the inhabitants. These media still fail to visualize the
re-shaping aspect of New Babylon, for this reason Constant moved to the
media of drawing. The drawings complement the previous media because they
represent a constant flux and allow the fourth dimension of time, in which the
transformation of the interior takes place. The paintings show again something
that is absent in the other media: they visualize the complexity of nomadic
lifestyle and the dark side of re-shaping the environment constantly and
therefore complement and oppose them.
Finally I conclude that these media each exemplify a different aspect of
New Babylon and therefore we need to explore them together to understand the
concept of New Babylon as a re-shapeable dynamic city. In this essay there are
problems I did not address, such as the problem that models, maps, drawings
and paintings are not neutral representations and the question of how these
media influence our perception of New Babylon. Future research should explore
these questions further.
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Bibl iograpy
Allen, Stan, Mapping the Unmappable: On Notation in: Allen, Stan & Diana
Agrest, Practice: Architecture, Technique and Representation, London(Routledge), 2000, pp. 31 45.
Conway, H. & R. Roenisch, Drawings, models and photographs in: Conway,
H. & R. Roenisch, Understanding Architecture, London (Taylor & Francis), 2004,
pp. 185 214
Heynen, Hilde, New Babylon of de antinomien van de utopie , OASE 43
Zwischenraumgespenster (1995) 1, pp. 36 50.
McDonough, Thomas, Fluid Spaces: Constant and the Situationist Critique of
Architecture, in M. Wigley en C. Zegher (eds.), in: The Activist Drawing:
Retracing Situationist Architecture from Constants New Babylon and to
Beyond, New York (The Drawing Center), London (The MIT Press), 2001, pp. 93
105.
Nelson, Goodman, Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols,
Cambridge (Hackett Publishing Company Inc.), 1976.
Pickles, John,A History of Spaces: Cartographic reason, mapping and the geo-
coded world, London (Routledge), 2004.
Vidler, Anthony, Diagrams of Utopia, in: in: M. Wigley en C. Zegher (eds.), in:
The Activist Drawing: Retracing Situationist Architecture from Constants New
Babylon and to Beyond, New York (The Drawing Center), London (The MIT
Press), 2001, pp. 83 93.
Wigley, Mark, Paper, Scissors, Blur, in: M. Wigley en C. Zegher (eds.), in: The
Activist Drawing: Retracing Situationist Architecture from Constants New
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Babylon and to Beyond, New York (The Drawing Center), London (The MIT
Press), 2001, pp. 27-57.
Winget, Megan, Nelson Goodmans Languages of Art, Notation, and ArtisticRepresentation: An Analysis of Music Notation, Chapel Hill, 2006.
Zegher, Catherine de, Introduction, in: M. Wigley en C. Zegher (eds.), in: The
Activist Drawing: Retracing Situationist Architecture from Constants New
Babylon and to Beyond, New York (The Drawing Center), London (The MIT
Press), 2001, pp. 9-15.
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Attachments
1. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Ontwerp voor een zigeunerkamp (Design for a gypsy camp), 1958,
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague.
2. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Spatiovores, 1960, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
3. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Constructie in Oranje(Orange construction), 1958, metal, ink on
Plexiglas, and oil on wood, 23 x 110 x 100 cm
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4. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Klein labyrinth (Small Labyrinth), metal, plexiglass, wood, oil, chalk, 70 x 35 x 56
cm
5. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Mobiel ladderlabyrinth (Mobile ladderlabyrinth), 1967, brass, Plexiglas, wood,
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
6.Ambiance de dpart (Ambience of departure), 1959
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7. Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon/Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr region), 1963
8. Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon/Amsterdam,1963, ink on map, 53 cm x 62 cm,
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
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9. Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon/Antwerpen, 1963, ink on map, 52 x 64 cm, Gemeentemuseum, The
Hague
10. Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon/Paris, 1963-1964, ink on map, 47 x 61 cm, Gemeentemuseum,
The Hague
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11. Constant Nieuwenhuys, New Babylon op historische kaart van Middlesex(New Babylon on a historical
map of Middlesex), 1966-1967, Watercolor on photograph, 81 x 99 cm, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
12.Constant Nieuwenhuys,Symbolische voorstelling van New Babylon (Symbolic representation of NewBabylon), 1969 (detail)
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13. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Interieur New Babylon(New Babylon interior), 1960, ink on paper, 32 x 46 cm
14. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Labyratoire (Labyratorium), 1962-1963
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15. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Fiesta Gitana, 1964, oil on canvas, Centraal museum, Utrecht
16. Constant Nieuwenhuys, Ode lOdon (Ode to the Odon),1969, oil on canvas