experimental architecture peter cook pdf

And in this obscure grey area he or she, rather like Johnny Cash’s A Boy Named Sue, travels alone along unexplored paths and trajectories that bridge the two shores of failure: a Stranger in a Strange Land. Featuring full-colour images of his most famous drawings, including Archigram’s ‘Plug-in City’, and built works, such as the Kunsthaus Graz in Austria and the Vienna Economics and Business University’s Department of Law and Central Administration Buildings, this book is a window into the life of one of architecture’s most celebrated rebels. The Experimental Architect1inhabits the space that lies between these two extremes. It also provides an inside account of his leadership of the Bartlett, for which he is frequently credited as a central figure in rescuing the reputation of a once-ailing, now world-famous, school of architecture. Taking the reader on a journey through his colourful and wide-ranging career, it touches on his early years and architectural education, his relationships with key figures within the architecture community and his work teaching and lecturing internationally. Instant City then moves elsewhere and gives rise to another ephemeral city. Suffused with Peter’s infectious energy, enthusiasm and charm, this intriguing memoir explores major themes in architecture through the lens of his life and work. In Instant City (Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Peter Cook, 1969), the instant city arrives at a given place, infiltrates and creates an event.

He is also former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, and Emeritus Professor and former Chair of the Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London). He first came to international renown in the 1960s as a founder of the radical, experimental group Archigram, winners of the 2002 RIBA Royal Gold Medal. Peter Cook has been a pivotal figure within the architecture world for over half a century.

Experimental architecture peter cook pdf