Archigram essay filip ponechal

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE PHENOMENA univerzity of architecture,civil engineering and geodesy sofia

STUDENT:FILIP PONECHAL 2014/15

Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s - based at the Architectural Association, London that was neofuturistic, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was only expressed through hypothetical projects. The main members of the group were Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene Designer Theo Crosby was the "hidden hand" behind the group. He gave them coverage in Architectural Design magazine where he was an editor from 1953–62, brought them to the attention of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, where in 1963, they made an exhibition called Living Cities, and in 1964 brought them into the Taylor Woodrow Design Group, which he headed, to take on experimental projects.

The magazine Archigram was printed in 1961 to introduce their ideas. Magazine was committed to a 'high tech', light weight, infra-structural approach that was focused towards survival technology, the group experimented with modular technology, mobility through the environment, space capsules and mass-consumer imagery. Their works offered a vision of a future machine age however, social and environmental issues were left unaddressed.In my opinion It was a little bit creepy or freaky but I like it a lot.

members of archigram group

TRUE STORY

BY PETER COOK

Archigram was, beyond everything, immensely creative. I don’t think we have to be shy about that. When the group was first formed in 1964 it consisted of six men who ranged in temperament from the laconic to the bright-eyed, and in age and experience from the hardened builders of local authority schools and public buildings, to young architects who were in their first jobs after school. / Peter Cook, London 2012 Excerpted from the foreword.

This is story about how Archigram magazine began and what was the first ideas about what they want to public in this magazine.The way how was this story made is really interesting because you can see the sketches of people buildings,photos,conversation bubbles and everything generate one collage which show us what happend in that time and which type of tasks they resolved.It is create way how to introduce your thoughts.

SIR PETER COOK

Sir Peter Cook, the British architect, professor, and writer has been a pivotal figure within the global architectural world for over half a century.One of his most significant works from his time with Archigram was The Plug-In City.

This project still invokes debates on technology and society, challenging standards of architectural discourse today.

Cook lectured at the University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture and lecture around the world.

PLUG-IN-CITY

This provocative project suggests a hypothetical fantasy city, containing modular residential units that “plug in� to a central infrastructural mega machine. The Plug-in City is in fact not a city, but a still evolving megastructure that involves residences, transportation and other essential services and all are movable by giant cranes.

RON HERRON

Ron Herron was born in 1930 in London, England and he died in 1994.He was a notable English architect and teacher.

He was perhaps best known for his work with the seminal English experimental architecture collective Archigram.

Herron is the creator of one of the group’s best known and celebrated projects, The Walking city.

WALKING CITY

Walking City imagines a future in which borders and boundaries are abandoned in favour of a nomadic lifestyle among groups of people worldwide. Herron inspired by NASA's towering, mobile launch pads, hovercraft, and science fiction comics.Archigram showed parts of mobile buildings that travel on land and sea. Like so many of Archigram's projects, Walking City suposed the fast-paced urban lifestyle of a technologically advanced society in which one need not be tied down to a permanent location. The structures are designed to plug into utilities and information networks at different locations to support the needs and desires of people who work and play there, travel and stay put, at the same time. This nomadic existence, different cultures and information is shared, creating a global information market and also connect all parts of world.

There was a whole family of these vehicles, containing all the elements you would find in a functioning city: business quarter, offices, housing, public and private services. Some had detachable asistant units, such as hospitals and disaster units.

The standard Walking City had extendible arms, which could connect with other walking elements, with the ground and sea, allowing the transfer of goods and materials. The original collage called 'Cities Moving', was set in New York.The desert version was made much later, for the 1973 Archigram exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

A description in the International Times in the late 1960s or early 1970s likened the Walking City to a war machine. The paper had made its own collage which had these vehicles crushing houses and tanks.’I must admit that I'd always seen it differently; as an object which moved slowly across the earth like a giant hovercraft, only using its legs as a levelling device when it settled on its site. To me, it was a rather friendly-looking machine’.(Ron Herron)

CAPSULE

The space capsule was an inspiration how different in concept and in efficiency from the tradition of buildings! The statement was a capsule habitation, with the ergonomy and sophistication can be a space capsule. The parts would be able to updated as technology moved forward, and as the habitation changed his needs.The Plug-in city was being developed, and while both projects remained quite separate.

It soon became idea that the capsule dwelling would be a preferred type within a Plug-in city. It also became propose of that the organic wedge shaped unit sitting into a tower of project Plug in city.

Some another information i found is The capsule dwelling was a set of components efficiently locked together but they were capable of total inter-changeability. For example if you use one capsule like a showroom for automobile as an analogy the Ford floor tray could be changed in a Chrysler floor tray. There would be a continual exchange taking place, with constantly changing and evolving parts. The whole tower would be organised to allow the larger elements to be replaced by crane and the smaller elements manoeuvred and all parts could be able to opened-out or clipped-in. The main parts were conceived as pressed – metal.

LIVING POD

This living pod was proposed by David Greene.This ‘house’ is regarded as consisting of two parts the first one is ‘Living pod’ represent live and seond part are attached machines.Also For David Greene that was combination of two passions.First one was inspiration in Freidrich Kiesler’s ‘Endless House’.

Important think which affect David was the organic shape of Freidrich house.Greene designed shape like white shell for his house and another aspect or second passion was how to connect and solve aspects of devices.The pod is the natural fusion of those both

Description: Now i want to inroduce the parts or components of living pod.In one way this whole structure is really complicated.Part one, a Pod colour is white, bonded white.Pod has four aperture and one access aperture.All parts are the inside construction is with inner bonded sandwich of insulation.

Floor isdesign like multi-purpose inflating floor.

Part Two.Machinery parts havefour automatic self-levelling compression legs for maximum 5 feet of water or 40-degree slope. Two transparent sectionalised sliding aperture seals with motors. Also constraction of surface has automatical cleaning system and transparent entry seal with ramp and hydraulics.One only with total body water immersion possibility. Two rotating silos for disposable toilet and clothing objects, Inside pod is non-static food dispenser with self cook modification.Also one of the many special equipments inside are inflating screens to sleep mats.

This ‘living pod’ able to hung to plug - in urban structure or can sit in the open ladscape and it is still a house.

SUISALOON

Suitaloon is seen as an extension Archigram’s idea of a mobile architecture. This inflatable suit or living envelope, that is readily available at any time or anywhere. It is based upon minimal or reductive dwelling concept where the components and the support systems are reduced to basic necessities. The lightness allows portability of this wearable architecture. In essence it is a system to plug in and out that is wearable and minimal.

Each suit has a plug serving functions similar to a key. This plug allows one to connect to another Suitaloon or leave own house or pack to be collected upon return. When number of suitaloons are interconnected larger communities could also be formed.

LAST WORDS For me this topic about archigram,people who made this magazine or amazing projects like walking city and so on is very inspiring and give me another point of view of thinking about how to present yourself in architectural field or how to design something else.

It is absolutely amazing how architects in that time in 60´s designed such overtime or timeless (i don´t know) architecture and put together architecture and art and proposed creative collages which way you can fully work with your imagination.

BIBLIOGRAFY

www.citymovement.files.wordpress.com www.archigram.net www.future-house-genealogy.blogspot.com www.pinterest.com www.westminster.ac.uk