Travel Documents 131: UNIVERSITAS - SOLARPUNK AESTHETICS
Genre: sci-fi, near-future, social change, cultural change
The Dust Cover Copy
A global disaster might occur sooner than we ever could have anticipated. What will happen afterwards, no one knows. But in the book Universitas, a veil is lifted. Universitas explores what’s possible when creativity meets science and ecology. In Universitas H. Bottlefield takes you on a journey to eight futuristic solarpunk cities. Each city has its own distinctive character, culture and history and has developed unique and highly specialised ways of taking on the specific challenges it faces. In all these places Bottlefield found communities of people working together.
His extensive research on these cities ranges from agriculture to architecture and includes topics like robotics, aviation, nature conservation, spirituality and art and trade. In the eight chapters H. Bottlefield’s illustrations give you a detailed look into the solarpunk future.
The Scene
Worldbuilding
Oh what a fun book! If you’ve been reading a lot of hard and heavy stuff, this artist’s journal of the future will give you the mental break you need.
In images and easy-to-access research notes, the author offers a vision of a future where our cultures learn to live lightly on the world: from seasteads that use shells and marine animals as their inspiration to nomadic communities wandering over the plains, from scientific communities producing mechanical pollination drones to spiritual communities built around seed stores. Each community has a purpose, and each one mixes beauty and function into a whole.
The Lingo
Writing Style
Simple and accessible, this work verges on spare. The work is a translation, and I did notice translation issues throughout. But it’s not the end of the world. The material is well worth a little patience with the translation missteps.
The Moves
Plot
I wouldn’t call it a ‘plot’ exactly in this book, but the groundwork done by the author is well-done and thoughtfully rendered. It gives enough background to make changes this big believable, but doesn’t waste your time on the details.
Overall Rating
An absolute delight. I highly recommend this for any hopeful-future fan’s shelf. If you’re doing world-building, jumpstarting some design ideas, trying to come up with new approaches for a writing project or just trying to lift your spirits, this is what you need.
