Exhibition in London Shows Works by Peter Cook

The visionary works of Peter Cook show complex future visions of urban spaces. A selection of his works is currently on display in the Richard Saltoun Gallery in London.

Peter Cook, a British architect and artist, has earned international renown since the 1960s with his drawings and paintings of futuristic cities. The exhibition Peter Cook: Cities shows the diversity of his works through the decades leading up to his most recent creations.

Between architecture and art

Cook’s impressive visions exist in the field of tension between architectural concepts and artistic creativity. He brings into being an abstract space that frees him from the limits of reality. In doing so, he uses his own method to explore the future and moves beyond classical architecture.

Plug-in City

One of Cook’s best-known ideas is the Plug-in City, a megastructure whereby the city grows upwards. All infrastructural functions operate on the vertical plane. In order to create space for the growing population, prefabricated living units are plugged into the megastructure. Upward growth will create ever more space for urban life. It is the image of a city that can flexibly respond to change.

Arcadia A, 1977-78, © Peter Cook

Visions of the future

As a member of the Archigram group, Cook developed radical ideas. Even today, these concepts inspire and engender new approaches. In Cook’s later works, vegetation plays an increasingly significant role: plants intertwine with geometric elements. Current topics such as greening and prefabrication appear frequently and illustrate the lasting magnitude of the artworks.