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LDF: Land of automobiles
London – Studio Swine has recreated an area of the Amazon rainforest once colonised by Ford.
- Fordlandia was founded by Henry Ford in 1928 and subsequently abandoned in 1934
- Studio Swine has imagined what the city would be like if the project had succeeded
Fordlandia by Studio Swine as part of London Design Festival, UK
Fordlandia by Studio Swine as part of London Design Festival, UK
Fordlandia by Studio Swine as part of London Design Festival, UK
Fordlandia by Studio Swine as part of London Design Festival, UK
The exhibition space at Fashion Space Gallery is designed to resemble a dystopian vision of an imaginary Fordlandia resident’s living room.
Ford set up the city for practical and aspirational reasons in the belief that it would provide a cheap and reliable source of rubber for his automobile business, while also functioning as a utopian model that could revolutionise all future American cities.
The exhibition is a collaboration between architect Azusa Murakami and artist Alexander Groves, who visited the area to source materials native to Fordlandia. Cushions made from the skin of the pirarucu, a large Amazonian fish, and a table made from ipe hardwood, or Brazilian walnut, feature alongside chairs made from ebonite, once used for car batteries, made to evoke the automobile manufacturer’s role.
The Big Picture
Learn more about the value of speculative design in our True Lies column and check back in the coming days for more reviews of London Design Festival.
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