This Utopia illustration is based off of the Garden City concept in Ebenezer Howard's book called The Garden Cities of To-morrow. It was drawn as a final for the Wintersession 2014 course Architecture of Utopia taught by Nathaniel Walker.
The concept of this Utopia drawn is that there should be a balance between nature and technology. It is in a radial layout with single family homes dominating the streets. There are plenty of trees and gardens scattered throughout the city. Factories skirt the exterior of the city and there are trains that commute the residents to a larger center city for work. In the center of the design there is a giant central park with exhibition buildings and shops. It is meant to be a relaxing place where one can walk through the streets freely and not feel the overwhelming congestion or chaos of a typical city.
I chose to draw this Garden City in pure Art Nouveau architecture and referenced architects like Victor Horta, Henry van de Velde, Hector Guimard, and René Binet. For the various domes and ornamentation I referenced the scientific illustrations Ernst Haeckel. These scientific studies were also used by artists, architects, and designers under the Art Nouveau umbrella during the Design period's peak. The two women that frame the top of the piece are inspired by Alphonse Mucha's artwork.
This work is done strictly in pen and was drawn over the course of three days. It's size is 22x30inches.
The full illustration
The center of the Utopian city.
The arch is based off of René Binet's arch for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. The glass structures around the arch serve as places for exhibitions so that the cities inhabitants feel that they are constantly learning instead of being just cogs in a machine.
The Bottom Left of the drawing.
It displays another row of houses with beautiful garden roofs as well as interesting facades and domes.
The bottom right of the drawing.
It displays different residential homes, a glass building, a couple sitting on a balcony, and a garden situated behind an entire block of houses.
The title and top section of the drawing.
This displays the surrounding countryside and the train system used in the Utopia.
The two Mucha women in the top right and left corners.
The one on the left is based on Alphonse Mucha's work titled 'Poetry' while the one of the left is based on his work titled 'Painting'.
