Ideally we would be building structures that are both beautiful and practical. I don’t really vibe with Soviet brutalism aesthetically but I appreciate the utilitarianism.

I would also like to propose that anyone who has designed or purchased that fucking minimalist modern all white+marble shit goes straight to the gulag.

  • TemporalMembrane [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Integration of hydroponic/aquaponic gardens will be important. Lots of buildings in whatever downtown exists will have tons of green and local flora integrated into the siding. Glass isn't as big a feature but things are shiny nevertheless. Every building has ever-present solar panels.

    We have a new spin on Harrappan civilization wells used to cool off buildings. Lots of passive temperature management alternatives like this are present in the post-capitalist future. First floor lobbies almost invariably have a large, nice pool that acts to trap and cycle out heat and are often open all the way to the top. The need for insulation and keeping heat in during winter and heat out during summer means if you live in an apartment tower, you can't hear your neighbors. Things are peaceful and quiet at home.

    Walk ability will be very important, as will public transportation. Wide, boulevards with a few story high buildings acting as side walls and lush and mature trees form an arcade separating spacious sidewalks where quiet public transit runs below large mounds of greenspace that look like wildlife crossings. LRT lines rise from underground periodically to pick up and drop off passengers. Mixed-use residential and "commercial" areas (really just depots and warehouses for people to pick up goods, along with ubiquitous cafes and pubs) combine readily. Some people choose to live in the apartments above their place of work, but most like the idea of separating worklife and homelife and public transit is good and dependable enough that it's normal to live in a different building than the one you work.

    Public utilities are nice places to be. It isn't unheard of to go picnic at your local stormwater reclamation center and reservoir.

    Public extravagance with private restraint - people's actual homes will be pretty nice but spartan. Public squares and buildings will be very nice to be in and enjoyable to hang out in - to the point that when people have parties they'll think it'd be weird to host it at home and think we were weird to ever do that.

    The economics of post-capitalist construction means materials are chosen for limiting ecological impact and minimizing the amount of maintenance needed over the (incredibly long) lifetimes of buildings.