Architecture on the Edge
Monday 19 September 2016 6.30 - 8pm
Geological Society, Piccadilly
£12, £6 concessions. Includes panel discussion and drinks.
Peter Cook RA: Floating Ideas
What role do speculative propositions play in unlocking the possibilities in architecture? What is inspiring new approaches to architectural and urban practice and what are the results? Our panel discuss.
Across his career in practice and as an educator, Peter Cook RA has been interested in unlocking new possibilities in architecture. Archigram, the avant-garde 1960s group of which he was a member, looked outside architecture, drawing inspiration from as disparate sources as the space race, car manufacturing, beat poets and new advances in technology. The result was a range of speculative projects, from ‘Sleek and Sponge building’ to ‘Instant City’, which pushed the boundaries of architecture as it was then conceived and continue to capture the imagination of architects decades later.
In this event, a panel of architects and designers present projects and methodologies that exist on the edge of conventional practice. They explore the impact of breaking with tradition and reflect on the vital role played by speculative propositions. For some, this is about dissolving boundaries between the virtual and the physical, for others it is using technology to connect across the world with practitioners from many fields. How might these practices be able to contribute fresh ideas to architecture and urbanism, construction and sustainability, habitation and delight? The discussion will explore a range of answers.
Speakers include:
Keiichi Matsuda – Designer and film-maker working at the intersection of technology, media and architecture.
Wolfgang Tschapeller – Architect, head of the Institute of Art and Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
Raoul Bunschoten – Founder of CHORA, professor of Sustainable Urban Planning and Urban Design at the TU Berlin.