Handmade Utopia (Pre-Order)

Half a century ago, a legion of young idealists dropped out of society and went "back to the land," creating a patchwork of utopian communes across Northern California. Handmade Utopia: Back-to-the-Land Architecture in Northern California tracks down the rogue souls still committed to this way of life, capturing their handbuilt, otherworldly residences alongside the stories of how they came to be—at what is now the tail end of one generation's grand social experiment. Handmade Utopia travels the length of Northern California, which formed the epicenter of the movement, journeying down hidden dirt roads and deep into redwood forests to discover handmade homes kept hidden for decades. Michael Schmelling's photography documents how these structures appear today, while David Jacob Kramer's oral histories detail how they came to be.

In the mid-1960s, back-to-the-landers fled a Bay Area that had become over-policed and overrun with runaways, drugs, and commercial exploitation. These new pioneers taught themselves to farm, practiced free love, and generated radical new architectural styles. They are now in their 70s and 80s and the question arises of what they will leave behind, literally and figuratively. For decades, they have kept these experimental homes hidden, long fearful of building inspectors and drug squads. Handmade Utopia presents these structures as artworks in their own right, captured at a moment when they risk being lost forever.

Please note: This item is currently available for pre-order. Orders containing this product will not ship until after its release date on September 1, 2026.

• Published by D.A.P. and Edition Patrick Frey
• 496 pages
• 11.8 x 8.8 x 1.4 inches
• Paperback