Perhaps at one point last century the future was so bright because of all those nuclear bombs exploding – at least, so they imagined. But they were also wildly optimistic about what the twenty-first century would hold. And it certainly wasn’t double-dip recessions, an ever-widening equity gap, anthropogenic global warming, and rule 34. Sometimes they built the future as they saw it, sometimes they just drew it. Either way, it appeals more than what we actually got…
architecture
Palace of the Soviets. B Iofan, O Gelfreikh, V Schuko, sculptor S Merkulov - 1934 version
Palace of the Soviets. B Iofan, O Gelfreikh V Schuko, sculptor S Merkulov - 1946 version
Rusakov Workers' Club
Le Corbusier House
Brastoff Factory, Julius Shulman
Palácio da Alvorada, Oscar Niemeyer
air
V-Bombers: Vickers Valiant (source: ausairpower.net)
V-Bombers: Handley Page Victor (source: airliners.net)
V-Bombers: Avro Vulcan (source: aeroflight.co.uk)
Northrop YB-35 Flying wing cockpit
sea
Aquarius Underwater Laboratory (source: NOAA)
Inside Aquarius Underwater Laboratory
space
Moon Ships (from Collier's Magazine, 1953)
Inside the Moon Ship (from Collier's Magazine, 1953)
It Doesn't Have To Be Right... 
September 18, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Hi ian. just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for these posts, really enjoy them. I love old futuristic design, has a habit of looking better than what we end up with.
ian
editor – jupiter magazine
September 19, 2011 at 11:47 am
Sometimes you just need a bit of eye candy. You just need to make sure it’s the right kind of eye candy 🙂
October 2, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Aquarius is the site of NEEMO, which is a continuing mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NEEMO/index.html
It is good to see that at least part of our future has a future.