Like something straight out of the mind of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells, the Steampunk design culture has been around for a long time. In a recent Wired feature we see that the movement is alive and kicking. Using strongly contrasting elements such as Victorian refinement and industrial grit, imparting a distinct sense of old technology vs. new, the aesthetic is both beautiful and unique. Steam and clockworks replace silicon logic, brass and copper stand in for titanium and plastic and airships replace spaceships. Rather than simply read about and imagine this future world, today's steampunks are creating and building that beautiful aesthetic through use of modern technology mixed with industrial metals in a very classical style. See the Wired article here.