Glass Houses and Astral Societies as Models for a New Culture: Paul Scheerbart and Walter Benjamin.

This article examines the fantastic literature of Paul Scheerbart (1863–1915), focusing on his novel *Lesabéndio* (1913) and the utopian treatise *Glasarchitektur* (1914), as models reflecting a cultural threshold in European modernity marked by technological innovation and changes in visual culture. It situates Scheerbart's works within nineteenth- and early twentieth-century developments such as panoramas and glass architecture, highlighting their interplay of impressionistic aesthetics and political potential. The article also explores Walter Benjamin's engagement with Scheerbart, emphasizing Benjamin's interpretation of Scheerbart's utopian visions as embodying a new, technology-enhanced culture emerging after World War I, characterized by transformed perception, anonymity, and the rejection of traditional humanism. While Scheerbart's kaleidoscopic, colorful glass architecture contrasts with Benjamin's focus on transparency and technological rationality, both see in Scheerbart's oeuvre key themes—technology, politics, tradition, and destruction—that prefigure modernist cultural shifts. The article concludes that Benjamin's politically charged reading, though unorthodox, captures essential aspects of Scheerbart's work as a foundation for a new culture shaped by technological and societal transformation.