The next big step in environmental design and architecture, one that moves beyond stylized abstraction, needs to focus again on social factors. This focus is much broader than addressing workers' housing needs alone, as was the case in the 1920s and 30s.
Gaudí and Soleri did not want to be defined by a particular style, while Torroja was seen as a Modernist, and Calatrava and Candela were called Futurists. However, these labels miss the dynamic mix that defines the next stage of development, which is about niche constructions.
Gaudí and Torroja were deeply religious, much like the French priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, known for his Alpha Omega theory. While Soleri shared de Chardin's passion, he stayed true to his social democratic beliefs — the idea that people shape themselves by making choices and acting on them.
Yet Soleri stands apart for weaving architecture and ecology into a single vision. His early work pioneered ecosystem engineering, designing buildings that require entirely new ways of living that seek to heal the environment through purposeful human effort.
Critics saw his megastructure ideas as spaces that would limit, rather than free, the human spirit. Because of this, many thought his designs were unlivable. They did not realize that his work was meant for a different time and required cultural and genetic research that had not yet happened.
Soleri could not yet demonstrate how his megastructures might emerge organically from human progress, since the notion that environment and culture can guide our genetic evolution was still in its infancy. Today, with a deeper understanding, we see that inhabiting his City in the Image of Man would require a new fusion of cultural growth and collective altruism.
