Building Entopia

1975 Doxiadis, C[onstantinos] A[postolou] (1913-75). Building Entopia. Illus. New York: W. W. Norton, with a “Glossary” on 309-11. MoU-St, PSt

Detailed description of his vision of a global eutopian city with plans for its realization. Entopia means a city that is both desirable and realistic. Details of the furniture (72-82), room (86-95), and house (100-10) of the future, all depending on advanced technology, and all designed to be very flexible. In addition, he explains the “housegroup” of about fifty families (116-25), the neighborhood (136-47), and other larger groups, such as the polis, the metropolis, the megalopolis, the Eperopolis, and the Ecumenopolis, or the global city. In each case, he begins with the current situation and ends with steps toward the better future. All groupings are designed for flexibility and freedom of choice within rules set by the group. The author provides something of a summary in “The real Entopia 2121 A.D.” (301-07). The author develops his arguments in a series of related books, all of which add substance to his eutopia, with Building Entopia described as the third volume in the series. The first volume is Anthropopolis: City for Human Development. Athens: Athens Publishing Center, 1974 by Doxiadis (1-206), with a symposium with Doxiadis, Rene Dubos, Erik H. Erikson, Dennis Gabor, Reginald S. Lourie, Margaret Mead, C. H. Waddington, Thomas A. Doxiadis, and Spyros A. Doxiadis (207-357). The second volume is Ecumenopolis: The Inevitable City of the Future. New York: W.W. Norton, 1974 by Doxiadis and J. G. Papaioannou. The fourth volume is Doxiadis, Action for Human Settlements. New York: W.W. Norton, 1976. See also his Between Dystopia and Utopia. Hartford, CT: The Trinity College Press, 1966. Greek author.