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This is interesting. I’ve personally only ever seen the word “solarpunk” here on HN and on sites linked to on here. I’m kind of curious as to how big this commu
by newbie789 5y ago
This is interesting. I’ve personally only ever seen the word “solarpunk” here on HN and on sites linked to on here. I’m kind of curious as to how big this community is.
For example, I learned about steampunk when I asked about why somebody had copper gears on their hat and somebody explained it to me. I learned about cyberpunk from, well, growing up in the 90s. They both immediately evoke specific aesthetics unique to them, and it’s not hard to think of seminal movies/models/novels/music for each one.
I do not have this association with solarpunk.
I wasn’t unable to picture the solarpunk aesthetics based off the list of bullet points aside from Miyazaki with a lot of bikes, which I doubt is the whole thing.
What are some examples of solarpunk art? Who are some solarpunk evangelists? Does this actually exist outside of a phrase used by posters on Hacker News?
Edit: I have looked further into this and it’s just… odd.
I don’t mean to sound ridiculous but I’m still kind of confused about as to whether this is an actual movement or a very small handful of people trying to astroturf some anime-techno-utopia philosophy (that seems to explicitly seems to forbid any criticism of tech) while using the language of folks that have actually created art and formed good-faith communities over decades.
It kind of reads like something a bunch of tech CEOs and VCs cooked up as a “philosophy” in which they’re the ultimate saviors and criticizing tech is the ultimate sin.
I mean, even if this is some goofy Elon-Musk-Stoned-Shouting-At-Everyone nonsense, whoever decided to pursue this as an aesthetic and a movement didn’t bother to come up with anything beyond Miyazaki? Couldn’t even pick out what a solarpunk hat or jacket or computer would look like before shipping this “ideology” off to the presses?
- milofeynman 5y agoI read it for the first time an hour ago from a different article. https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/drawing-pictures-of-cities https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/drawing-pictures-of-cities Presumably that article is why the OP showed up on HN
- newbie789 5y agoThanks! These are some very specific notes about how cities can be more appealing. I’m still kinda confused about what “solarpunk” is aside from some loosely worded articles with anime screenshots.
- omnibrain 5y agoThanks for posting this article. Must have been coincidence or indirection, because I came from a german twitter thread. https://twitter.com/kaenkazui/status/1415637494717112325?s=21 https://twitter.com/kaenkazui/status/1415637494717112325?s=2...
- dirkt 5y agoReading this article, there are quite a few examples of "buildings with trees" in Germany, e.g. * the "Baumhaus" (tree-house) in Darmstadt [1], built 1970 (!). The linked article talks about some of the difficulties you get when roots grow through the roof, and how to avoid that. * the "1000 green roofs" programme in Berlin [2], one particular example [3] * there's a couple of Hundertwasserhaus with a unique architecture, and those usually also have green roofs. On top of that, you can find points (3) walkable streets, (4) varied architecture and (5) shade in many many towns and cities in Europe. In Germany, this has a long tradition; the "Dorflinde" ("village linden tree") is the historic center of many villages. [1] https://biotope-city.net/en/pioneer-ot-hoffmann/ https://biotope-city.net/en/pioneer-ot-hoffmann/ [2] https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/stadtgruen/stadtgruen-projekte/1-000-gruene-daecher/ https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/stadtgruen/sta... [3] https://www.landscaper-berlin.de/dach-holzbau/flachdach/dachbegruenung https://www.landscaper-berlin.de/dach-holzbau/flachdach/dach...
- amatecha 5y agoThere was (is?) a whole Mastodon instance[0] focused around solarpunk, and that sentiment is shared by quite a few others. It's probably still kinda niche, but on Mastodon the solarpunk ethos seems pretty prevalent to me. [0] https://sunbeam.city/about https://sunbeam.city/about
- Aeolun 5y ago> whether this is an actual movement or a very small handful of people trying to astroturf some anime-techno-utopia philosophy Isn’t that how literally every movement starts? Maybe we’re seeing the birth of a movement.