Review of expansive retrospective of drawings by Peter Cook (of Archigram fame) at Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, for STIRworld, attempting to interpret and understand their mixture of ambiguity and attraction.
Some architects are eulogised for both their buildings and their drawings—Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, for example. Then there are those whose built output will always be seen as secondary—Antonio Sant’Elia and Lebbeus Woods. Perhaps Bernard Tschumi. And definitely Peter Cook.
Cook was one of six core members of the charismatic London-based collective Archigram, formed in 1960 and, for a decade or so, leader of the architectural avant-garde in Britain. Rejecting the rigidity of form and mindset displayed by their modernist contemporaries, Archigram harked back to the radical experiments of modernism’s early years. It mixed consumerism, constructivism, Pop, technology and transience—with generous helpings of provocation and humour—to create alluring futuristic visions that foreshadowed high-tech and postmodernism.
Despite Archigram's international impact—Japanese architects proved particularly receptive—the group produced almost no buildings. Three of its members were involved in London’s South Bank Centre, an expressive piece of layered placemaking, or a hostile concrete labyrinth, depending on your perspective. Other schemes foundered as the public appetite and economic climate for megastructures waned in the 1960s. A belated attempt to establish a more conventional practice ended in 1974 when Archigram’s one major project—an entertainment centre in Monte Carlo—was cancelled ...
You can read the whole piece on Stirworld's website here.