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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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


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

constant's new babylon, the visualization of nomadic dynamics

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