Studio 5

SIR PETER COOK

Peter Cook and Justyna Karakiewicz

Studio Description

In the 1960s Sir Peter Cook, together with Warren Chalk, Dennis Crompton, David Greene, Ron Herron and Michael Webb, set up Avant-Garde architecture group Archigram. With this, they put forward a series of radical proposals as a reaction towards what he stated was a dull period in British architecture. In his recent lecture at the World Architecture Festival 2018, Sir Peter Cook said:

"I find that there is a narrowing of architecture; there are more schools of architecture that I've visited recently that have gone more narrow-minded. There's not a spirit of adventure and discovery that there might have even been 20 years ago. I don't like to be a moaner but this is my honest view. Sometimes, dare I say, agenda is placed above creativity."

Here is our chance to demonstrate that the spirit of Archigram still exists and flourish, that we have the spirit.
This Summer Intensive Studio will ask our most brilliant students to bring the spirit of Archigram to Melbourne in 2019. After gaining a deep understanding of the 1960s ideas, we will examine how these ideas might have been revolutionary in 1960s and whether they are still relevant.

You will have to immerse yourself in the excitement and turmoil of the original period, you will have to read extensively, watch films and listen to music, as much of this as possible before the studio starts. During the first week, we will ask students to propose Archigram 2019 ideas that they wish to develop based on your immersion. These ideas could result in drawings, models, or even costumes that will be further developed, modified and improved before Sir Peter Cook's arrival. Peter will join our studio in the week starting 28 January and will work with us to develop proposals for the final presentation on Tuesday 5 February. This presentation will consist of a major show of presentations and performance by students' and invited guests. The performance will be filmed and the following few days will be spent on editing the footage.

This Studio will demand a lot of work and dedication and will not be easy. If you are not prepared to work very hard please do not apply for this studio. Applications are due on 12 December to justynak@unimelb.edu.au. Application should include a sample of your work plus one paragraph explaining why you want to take this studio.

Studio Leaders

Sir Peter Cook RA was a founder of Archigram, and was knighted in 2007 by the Queen for his services to architecture and teaching. He is also a Royal Academician and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic. His achievements with Archigram were recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004, when the group was awarded the Royal Gold Medal. Cook was a director of London's Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, and has been director of Art Net in London and curator of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. He is a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, London. Cook's professorships include those of the Royal Academy, University College, London and the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste (Städelschule) in Frankfurt-Main, Germany. He practices with Gavin Robotham as CRAB studio.

Professor Justyna Karakiewicz researches urban design and architecture through design in practice globally and by publication, including numerous design awards and an extensive record of exhibitions. Her work in sustainability was recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2008 in the Housing Design Awards 2008 Historic Awards for the design of Spinney Garden, constructed in 1986. Her book Promoting Sustainable Living: Sustainability as an Object of Desire, (Routledge, 2015) and Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric (Routledge, 2011) extend her work in this field. Her most recent co-edited book, Urban Galapagos: Transition to Sustainability in Complex Adaptive Systems in the Springer Social and Ecological Interaction in the Galapagos Islands Series (2019) considers the opportunities in coupled natural urban systems, engaging computer, social and economic sciences with design.

!!! APPLICATIONS FOR THIS STUDIO ARE NOW CLOSED !!!
Schedule 9AM-4PM Monday-Friday January 17-February 9 in MSD Room 238

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