StoJournal — Utopia and architecture: the seed of a dreamed society

Utopia is a genre within which more or less coherent and detailed thoughts are developed about an ideal system of life. This life manifests itself in the pure fiction of a new society that exists only through the words that describe it but contributes significantly to the collective imagination. It is important to realize, however, that societies develop through dreams and utopias. We project ourselves into a state that is not ours but could in principle be so.

As architects and urban planners of tomorrow's cities, we incorporate a large part of these utopias into our approach, even if society is not yet ready for these advances. The modern world has shown us that a society's dreams must not only be anchored in utopia, but also in reality, even though this requires considerable effort from us. Optimism leads us to believe that our societies will eventually organize themselves to achieve the ideal of a sober and radiant life. Without losing ourselves in improbable fantasy, we must confront reality while incorporating the seed of a nascent utopia.

Let us start from the principle that the targeted, desired, and dreamed-of society respects human beings and nature, consumes only what is absolutely necessary, and intelligently meets its needs. In such a society, we can imagine that there exists a system of gender equality in which no one feels excluded. A society of all possibilities, of all innovations. A society of culture, of knowledge, a society of wisdom and sobriety.

One might think that such a utopian society is nothing but a chimera, but one would be wrong. This utopia exists where we want it to be, and we can very well modify our environment by making a few small efforts.

The real question then is whether a utopia is an impossible and limited dream or a future reality. The answer to this question is very ambitious.

— Manal Rachdi, OXO Architectes