Skyscrapers of Babel: How Ancient Mesopotamia Shaped the Modern City
From The Observatory
In the early 20th century, architects began looking to ancient Mesopotamia for inspiration in imagining the future. This was especially true for Hugh Ferriss, an American artist and “architectural delineator” known for his dramatic, shadowy drawings of futuristic cities. His 1929 book The Metropolis of Tomorrow showed cities filled with towering ziggurat-like skyscrapers—stepped buildings inspired by ancient Babylon and Assyria. Ferriss believed modern architecture could shape not only cities but also human well-being by organizing urban life into zones for art, science, and business.
At the time, archaeology was uncovering ruins from ancient Mesopotamian cities like Babylon and Ur. These discoveries, widely shared in the media, made the distant past seem strangely modern. Ferriss wasn’t alone in seeing a connection between these ancient cities and the possibilities of modern life. Though many architects rejected historical styles, Ferriss admired how past civilizations used architecture to uplift people. He criticized copying old styles without purpose and believed buildings should reflect their time and function.
Writers like Ayn Rand mocked this mix-and-match use of old styles, arguing for bold new designs. Ferriss agreed, but he also saw timeless value in some ancient forms—especially those that used design to influence society. For him and others like Le Corbusier and Louis Sullivan, great architecture from the past wasn’t about decoration but about vision and purpose.
Ferriss’s work helped shape how Americans imagined future cities, influencing designs from the 1939 World’s Fair to Disney’s Tomorrowland. By blending futuristic dreams with echoes of ancient cities, Ferriss and his peers showed that looking backward could sometimes help move forward. Their ideas made modern cities feel like modern Babylons—built on both new technology and ancient wisdom.
Read the full article “Skyscrapers of Babel: How Ancient Mesopotamia Shaped the Modern City” by Eva Miller
🔭 This summary was human-edited with AI-assist.
