Peter Cook: Art of Architecture

The cofounder of Archigram reviews his career through 18 projects, enriched by his drawings and personal commentary

While, for many architects, drawing is a functional tool in the development of specific building projects, Sir Peter Cook (born 1936) has used the medium throughout his long career to channel his boundless imagination. From those made in the 1960s at Archigram to the present day, Cook's colorful, highly detailed images resonate beyond the architectural sphere, as seen in his major solo exhibition at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in 2022. Cook's work pushes the boundaries of architectural norms of design and construction, with the freedom to imagine buildings, communities and cities that are, as he succinctly puts it, "possible or maybe nearly possible, but importantly, not consciously impossible."
For this book, Cook has selected the 18 projects--16 drawings, one building and his Serpentine Play Pavilion--that he considers most essential to understanding his creative process. His unorthodox and varied 60-year career is explored further in a conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist that delves further into Cook's personal history, belief systems and creative processes from childhood to the present day.