Archigram
The Book
Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Archigram envisioned the future of architecture in ways that enthralled a generation. In an era defined by the space race, they developed a high-tech, lightweight, infrastructural approach that stretched far beyond known technologies or contemporary realities. They devised autonomous dwellings and focused on survival technology; they experimented with megastructures and modular construction systems; they explored mobility through the environment and the use of portable living capsules: all through the medium of an incredible series of drawings and models. This book, now in a revised edition, catalogues Archigram’s entire oeuvre over fourteen years, including Archigram magazine. Along with commentaries by the architects, there are contributions from critics Reyner Banham, Martin Pawley, Michael Sorkin and others, writing then and now. Designed and edited by Archigram member Dennis Crompton, Archigram: The Book is a landmark in architectural publishing.
Warren Chalk (1927−88), Peter Cook, Dennis Crompton, Ron Herron (1930−94), David Greene and Michael Webb are the founder members of Archigram. Their theoretical work began in the 1960s as a cry against ‘the crap then going up in London’. Although they never built a building together, their influence over a generation of architects continues to be felt today. The group was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2002.
‘Archigram is easy to love: Its combination of comic book graphics, tongue-in-cheek humor, and high-tech futurism is a potent mix. Now the group’s entire output has been compressed into a mighty 300-page tome that is, above all else, a visual feast.’
– Metropolis Magazine Holiday Gift Guide 2018
‘Archigram’s ghost, a very colourful ghost, is everywhere.’
– Jonathan Meades, London Review of Books, 21 May 2020
‘Archigram was to architecture what the Beatles were to rock and roll. No less.’
– Michael Sorkin
- Authors
- Warren Chalk, Peter Cook, Dennis Crompton, Ron Herron, David Greene and Michael Webb, with essays by Reyner Banham, Martin Pawley, Michael Sorkin and others
- Designer
- Dennis Crompton
Hardcover
23 × 29.5cm
9 × 10 ¾ in
300pp plus 4pp of inserts and 4 fold-outs
Approx. 50 line drawings and 500 colour illustrations
£75
|
$95
ISBN 978-1-911422-49-5
Press
- Shelf love: architecture books to lose yourself in
Wallpaper*, 02 September 2019 - Archigram, architecture's pop legends, come alive in new book
Archpaper.com, 17 June 2019 - Archigram: The Book
Architectural Record, 10 February 2019 - Archigram – the band that still plays on
RIBAJ, 30 January 2019 - Archigram’s Radical Architectural Legacy
CityLab, 20 December 2018 - Archigram – The Book
KunstbuchAnzeiger, 18 December 2018 - urbanoReview: Archigram – The book.
URBANOPHIL, 17 December 2018 - Für Schmetterlingshirne
der architekt, 07 December 2018 - How a group of radical ’60s architects designed the future
Curbed, 26 November 2018 - The world according to Archigram
The Observer, 18 November 2018 - Check out the best architecture book releases of the fall
Archpaper.com, 12 November 2018
Related news
- RIBA Journal’s review of Archigram – The Book
05 February 2019 - Archigram – The Book featured in The Observer
19 November 2018