Notas sobre utopia e distopia a partir da Casa Kaufmann em Palm Springs, Califórnia

Abstract

Cities and their architecture are open for a number of readings on how utopias and dystopias manifest themselves in urban experiences. From this perspective, the essay presents a discussion on this topic from the Kaufmann House, an emblematic project by the modernist architect Richard Neutra in the late 1940s in the city of Palm Springs, California. When looking at the project from the city’s social context, it is possible to identify utopias and dystopias that are established from different experiences and worldviews. To this end, the text initially presents the Kaufmann family’s motivations and the architect’s intentions in building a house in the desert, aspiring to live the so-called California Dream. Taking specically into account a comparative focus between leisure and labor, the text then discusses this approach in the post-war city of Palm Springs, bringing the bases for a later reading of the utopia / dystopia present in the city, supported by analysis of some of the Kaufmann House’s project particularities. The essay concludes by pointing out that utopia and dystopia may occur simultaneously and in a complementary way, in a continuous flow over the years.