Professor Sir Peter Cook (born 22 October 1936) is an English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, lecturer and writer on architectural subjects. He was a founder of

Archigram Archigram was an avant-garde British architectural group whose unbuilt projects and media-savvy provocations "spawned the most influential architectural movement of the 1960's," according to Princeton Architectural Press study ''Archigram'' (19 ...

, and was knighted in 2007 by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for his services to architecture and teaching. He is also a

Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and a Commandeur de l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

of the French Republic. His achievements with

were recognised by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

in 2004, when the group was awarded the

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

Early life and education

Cook was born in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and studied architecture at Bournemouth College of Art from 1953–58. He then entered the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

in London, graduating in 1960.

Career

Cook was a director of London's

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

(1970-1972) and chair of architecture at

the Bartlett The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, also known as The Bartlett, is the academic centre for the study of the built environment at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. It is home to thirteen departments, with specialisms incl ...

School of Architecture at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(1990–2006), and has been director of Art Net in London and curator of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. He continues to curate, organise and exhibit around the world: in Seoul, LA, Cyprus, the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests annually, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for Modern art, modern and contempor ...

, as well as in castles, sheds and garages. He is a Senior Fellow of the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, London. Cook's professorships include those of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, University College, London and the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste (

Städelschule The Städelschule, full name Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule, is a tertiary school of art in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It accepts about 20 students each year from around 500 applicants, and has a total of approximately 150 ...

) in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

-Main, Germany. Cook has built in Osaka, Nagoya, Berlin and Madrid. However it was construction of his arts building in 2003, the

Kunsthaus Graz The Kunsthaus Graz, Grazer Kunsthaus, or Graz Art Museum was built as part of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2003 and has since become an architectural landmark in Graz, Austria. Its exhibition program specializes in contemporary ...

(aka 'The Friendly Alien') in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(with Colin Fournier), that brought his work to a wider public. He practiced from 2007 to 2019 with Gavin Robotham at CRAB (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau Ltd). In 2013 he completed the

Vienna University of Economics and Business The Vienna University of Economics and Business ( , WU) is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. The university received triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA). History WU was founded on 1 October 1898 as '' k.u.k. Exportakade ...

's new law faculty and Australia's newest school of architecture, the Abedian School of Architecture at

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private university, private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Queensland, Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teachi ...

on the Gold Coast. Cook was awarded a knighthood in Elizabeth II's 2007 Birthday Honours List, for services to architecture. His first building in the UK, a new drawing studio at the

Arts University Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a public university in Poole, England, specialising in art, architecture, film, performance, and design. Established in 1880, the university has been ranked Silver and Gold by the Teaching Excel ...

was opened by

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

in March 2016. He also built the innovation studio at the

, which was opened by

Odile Decq Odile Decq (born 1955) is a French architect, urban planner and academic. She is the founder of the Paris firm, Studio Odile Decq and the architecture school, Confluence Institute. Decq is known for her self-described goth appearance and style. ...

in 2021. Cook currently practices with Erlend Blakstad Haffner and Branko Belaćević at CHAP (Cook Haffner Architecture Platform Ltd). CHAP has offices in London, Belgrade and Oslo.

Awards and honours

*1960 – Henry Florence Student A.A. (Building Centre research Scholar) *1961 –

Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...

competition (Mention) *1962 – Gas Council House Design (First Prize) *1965 – Selected as one of "Young British Designers" ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' exhibition *1996 – Jean Tschumi Medal, International Union of Architects *1969 – Grant awarded by Graham Foundation, Chicago, for Instant City *2002 – Annie Spink Award, jointly awarded to David Greene (for contribution to architectural education) by the RIBA *2002 – Royal Gold Medal (with Archigram) by RIBA *2003 – Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the France Republic *2004 – Finalist for

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The ...

for

(with Colin Fournier) *2007 – Knighted in Queen's Honours' list (for services in architecture) *2008 – Senior Fellow of the

, London *2010 –

Mario Pani Mario Pani Darqui (March 29, 1911 – February 23, 1993) was a Mexican architect and urbanist. He was one of the most active urbanists under the Mexican Miracle, and gave form to a good part of the urban appearance of Mexico City, with emblema ...

Award for Architecture,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

*2010 – Honorary Doctorate of Technology,

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, Sweden

Success in architectural competitions

*1970 – Monte Carlo Entertainments Centre (with

) *1990 – Solar Housing, Landstuhl, Germany (with

Christine Hawley Christine Hawley CBE (born 1949) is an English architect and academic. She was Head of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Early life and education Hawley was born in 1949 in Shrewsbury. She was educated at the Ci ...

) *1992 – Museum of Antiquities, Austria (with Christine Hawley) *2000 –

(with Colin Fournier) *2006 – New Theatre Verbania, Italy (with Gavin Robotham) *2009 – Faculty of Law (D3) and Central Administration (AD), Vienna Business and Economics University (with Gavin Robotham) *2010 – 2nd prize in the

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Tower international competition (with Gavin Robotham) *2011 – Soheil Abedian School of Architecture,

on the Gold Coast, Australia (with Gavin Robotham and Brit Andresen) *2013 – Finalist in the National Stadium of Israel (CRAB + POPULOUS) *2013 – Finalist in the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct

Current appointments

*Professor Emeritus at University College London *Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts *Life Professor at the Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste (Städelschule) Frankfurt-Main *Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, London *Honorary Fellow of the

*Member of the Hessische Architektenkammer *Member of the RIBA,

Architects Registration Board The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is the statutory body for the registration of architects in the United Kingdom. It operates under the Architects Act 1997 as amended, a consolidating Act. It began under the Architects (Registration) Act ...

(ARB) *Fellow of University College London

Exhibitions

*Archigram exhibition – 1994 onwards: Vienna, Paris, New York, London, Pasadena, Chicago, Milan, Hamburg, Seoul, Mito, Taipei, Winnipeg, Zurich, Cracow, Zaragoza, Brussels, Rotterdam. *Curator of

Venice Biennale of Architecture The Venice Biennale of Architecture ( Italian: ''Mostra di Architettura di Venezia'') is an international exhibition showcasing architectural works from around the world, held in Venice, Italy, every other year. Originally held in even-numbered ...

British Pavilion 2004, Cyprus Pavilion 2006 *Personal exhibitions – various dates: Los Angeles, Tokyo, Oslo, Berlin, Osaka, Frankfurt,

Publications

*1967 – ''Architecture: Action and Plan''. London: Studio Vista. *1970 – ''Experimental Architecture''. London/New York: Studio Vista/Universal Books. *1972 – ''Archigram''. London: Studio Vista/Reinhold, Birkhauser *1975 – ''Melting Architecture''. London: Peter Cook, (published to accompany Art Net exhibition). *1976 – ''Art Net The Rally: Forty London Architects.'' London: Art Net/Peter Cook, (published to accompany Art Net exhibition). *1976 – ''Arcadia: The Search for the Perfect Suburb''. London: Art Net/Peter Cook. *1980 – ''Six Houses'' (with Christine Hawley). London: AA Publications, (published to accompany exhibition at the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications. History The Architectura ...

). *1983 – ''Los Angeles Now'' (with Barbara Goldstein). London: AA Publications, (published to accompany exhibition at the Architectural Association). *1985 – ''Peter Cook – 21 Years, 21 Ideas.'' Chrisine Hawley; foreword by

Reyner Banham Peter Reyner Banham (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: The Architectu ...

. Architectural Association exhibition catalogue''.'' London: AA Publications. *1985 – ''Lebbeus Woods'' (editor; with Olive Brown); Architectural Association exhibition catalogue. London: AA Publications, 1985. *1987 – ''Cities'' (with Christine Hawley); exhibition catalogue. London: Fisher Fine Arts. *1989 – ''Peter Cook 1961–89''. A+U. *1991 – ''New Spirit in Architecture'' (with Rosie Llewellyn-Jones). New York: Rizzoli. *1993 – ''Six Conversations.'' London: Academy Editions, ''Architectural Monographs'' ''Special Issue,'' No. 28. *1996 – ''Primer.'' London: Academy Editions. *1999 – ''Archigram''. London/New York: Princeton Architectural Press (with Japanese, German, and Chinese translations) *1999 – Zvi Hecker, ''House of the Book'' (contributor, with John Hedjuk and

Helene Binet Helene or Hélène may refer to: People * Helene (name), and Hélène, a female given name, including a list of people with the name * Hélène (singer) (Hélène Rollès, born 1966), French actress and singer * Helen of Troy, a figure in Greek ...

). . London: Black Dog. *1999 – ''The Power of Contemporary Architecture'' (with Neil Spiller). London: Academy Editions. *2000 – ''Bartlett Book of Ideas''. London: Bartlett School of Architecture. *2001 – ''The Paradox of Contemporary Architecture'' (contributor). Chichester: Wiley-Academy. *2003 – ''The City, Seen As A Garden Of Ideas''. New York: Monacelli. *2008 – ''Drawing: The Motive Force of Architecture''. Chichester: Wiley. 2nd edition publiished 2014. *2016 – ''Architecture Workbook: Design through Motive''. Chichester: Wiley. *2021 – ''Lives in Architecture: Peter Cook''. London: RIBA Publishing.

References

External links

The Bartlett: Peter Cook

Arcspace: Kunsthaus GrazKnighthood: Peter Cook (06/2007)Archinect interview (06/2008)Architectural Record interview (2007)Design Museum: ArchigramCHAP El País (spanish journal) interview (2011)

* ttp://www.whatisarchitecture.cc/peter-cook/ Interview with Peter Cookabout - What is architecture?, 2014 * Interview with Peter Cook on Archinect �
Conversation with Peter Cook on the State of Things
* Simon Sadler, ''Archigram: Architecture without Architecture'', Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 200

Interview with Designboom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Peter 1936 births Living people Architects from Essex Academics of University College London People from Southend-on-Sea Knights Bachelor Royal Academicians Alumni of Arts University Bournemouth Alumni of the Architectural Association School of Architecture British graphic artists