Manchester University Press- Dreams of Disconnection

This book offers a history of energy autonomy and small infrastructures in the field of architecture and urbanism from the end of the 19th century to the present day. 'This is an extensively researched, intellectually challenging and presciently topical study of the largely unexplored world of energy independence. Drawing from a wide range of examples, including theorists, architects, industrialists and engineers, Fanny Lopez has provided us with a comprehensive morality tale for our rapidly changing times. What began as a prophecy when she first started writing it has now materialised as her dreams of disconnection have become a reality. An indispensable guide to help us make sense of the turbulence surrounding us today.' James Steele, author of Ecological Architecture: A Critical History Why do we live in homes and communities built around the century-old industrial model of large service networks that use polluting resources? For more than a century, creative architects and planners have dreamed of decentralisation and self-sufficient living, not to cut themselves off from society, but to invent new modes of consumption and to rethink collective public services around common environmental values. In a time of climate crisis, changing society means changing energy infrastructures. Dreams of disconnection tells the story of this strand of design and planning, from its pioneers in the late nineteenth century to those applying similar ideas to tomorrow’s technology two hundred years later. Lopez takes in many a utopian visionary in her tour of dreamers of disconnection, from theorists and architects to industrialists and engineers. Technology and design are the centrepieces for these projects, and their complexity, particularly around sustainable supplies of energy, food…