Clemens Gritl’s body of work, A Future City from The Past, is based on a mystifying vision of a radically aggressive urban dystopia — an uncompromising design in the brutalist dogma. Gritl ponders a future where all buildings and structures are homogenic. The differentiations of architectural styles and eras are eliminated and replaced by geometric structures, repetition and absolute materiality. Gigantic “wohnmaschinen” (living machines) encompassed by endless motorway networks, make way for the “Super-Brutalist” megacity.

The thrill of this project lies in exploring the aftermath. It is fascinating to imagine how a prefabricated, futuristic metropolis would age, and what atmosphere an endless manmade landscape, constructed of only concrete and asphalt, would generate. What impact would such a massive concentration of sculptural architecture have on mankind? Could such a city succeed in producing a functional society, or would it automatically plunge into menacing social dysfunction?

Gritl’s work focuses on the interaction between space, dimension, scale, monotony and materiality of urban megastructures and their possible impact on human beings. Since completing his architectural studies in Munich and Rome, Clemens Gritl has been designing artificial 3D computer models, reflecting and exploring urban utopias of the 20th century. Research at the Technical University of Munich on mid-century, large-scale apartment buildings led Gritl to gain a deep fascination for such structures. In contrast to contemporary architecture these projects are based on revolutionary social visions.