Discover Peter Cook’s architectural drawings at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

‘Peter Cook: City Landscapes’ puts the architect’s drawings from his personal collection on display in Denmark

Blue drawing entitled 'Island City' by Peter Cook
Peter Cook, Island City, 2011-12, original on paper, 59,4 x 84,1 cm
(Image credit: © Peter Cook)
By Hannah Silver
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The drawings of British architect Peter Cook are the subject of a new exhibition at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. ‘Peter Cook: City Landscapes’ is part of the exhibition series ‘Louisiana on Paper’ and is to be held from 21 January to 8 May 2022.

A prominent figure in the architecture world for decades – and a founder of neo-futurist architectural group Archigram in the 1960s – Cook has long maintained that the future can be best examined through the medium of drawing. These works trace the way he has shaped his architectural vision over the years. Unrestrained by practical limitations, he is free to rethink conventional motifs in an innovative exploration of alternate cities and life forms.

Peter Cook: City Landscapes

Blue, red and green drawing entitled 'Outcrop House' by Peter Cook

Peter Cook, Outcrop House, 2018, print on paper, 42 x 59,4 cm 

(Image credit: © Peter Cook)

The exhibition arranges his examinations of buildings and cities in chronological order. The theme ‘Towers’, where Cook over the years has considered the possibilities inherent in both existing skyscrapers and fantasy buildings, is interspersed throughout, with drawings including Oslo Towers, Santa Monica Hotel and São Paulo Tower named after places he has stayed.

The drawings, from Cook’s personal collection, are accompanied by the descriptions he has penned, offering a rare insight into his methodologies. The curated selection highlights the themes that matter to him, with the collages frequently communicating his architectural ideas. Created from a template – usually in black and white – they are copied on to paper and filled in with gouache, pencil or watercolour. The resulting drawings may at first appear chaotic in their embrace of colour and pattern, but on second look, a precisely scaled and rendered aesthetic is revealed. 

It is a technique that has long been integral to his work, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s with Archigram. Members of the group are well known for considering new ways of depicting what a city can be, with projects such as Plug-in-City, Walking City and Instant City rethinking traditional presentation methods.

Blue, green, red and yellow drawing entitled 'Inhabited Wall' by Peter Cook

Peter Cook, Inhabited Wall, 2020, original on paper, 48 x 72 cm

(Image credit: © Peter Cook)

Green and red drawing entitled 'Urban Retreat' by Peter Cook

Peter Cook, Urban Retreat, 2018, print on paper, 42 x 59,4 cm

(Image credit: © Peter Cook)

Coloured print entitled 'Academy of the Hill' by Peter Cook

Peter Cook, Academy of the Hill, 1979, coloured print on 3mm card, 71 x 71 cm

(Image credit: © Peter Cook)

Multi-coloured drawing with red background entitled 'Crazy City' by Peter Cook

Peter Cook, Crazy City, 2008, original on paper, 29 x 50 cm

(Image credit: © Peter Cook)

INFORMATION

‘Peter Cook: City Landscapes’, 21 January – 8 May 2022

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Hannah Silver

Hannah Silver joined Wallpaper* in 2019 to work on watches and jewellery. Now, as well as her role as watches and jewellery editor, she writes widely across all areas including on art, architecture, fashion and design. As well as offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, Hannah is interested in the quirks of what makes for a digital success story.

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