Ronald James Herron () was 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 ...

and teacher. He is perhaps best known for his work with the seminal experimental architecture collective

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 ...

, which was formed in London in the early 1960s. Herron was the creator of one of the group's best known and celebrated projects, the Walking City.

Early life and education

Ron Herron was born in London on 12 August 1930, to a leather-working family. He studied draughtsmanship at the Brixton School of Building and architecture at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

in London.

Academic career

Herron taught 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 ...

in London from 1965 until 1993, when he was appointed as professor and Head of the School of Architecture at the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

Professional career

Herron formed Herron Associates with his sons Andrew and Simon in 1981. The firm built the acclaimed Imagination Headquarters in London and were involved in the design for Canada Water station.

Archigram

Shortly after finishing his architectural studies, Herron went to work for

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, alongside Warren Chalk and

Dennis Crompton Dennis Crompton (29 June 1935 – 20 January 2025) was an English architect, lecturer and writer on architectural subjects. He was a member of Archigram. He was known as the back-room fixer dealing with technology and looking after the archiv ...

. Architects

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

, Mike Webb, and David Greene had been meeting regularly as a group at a

greasy spoon A greasy spoon is a small, cheap restaurant typically specializing in Short order cooking, short order fare. The term is also used in the UK–along with the informal term "caff" for café–to refer to a small privately-owned eatery that tradi ...

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

, and had already self-published a pamphlet called "Archigram" (from "architecture" + "telegram"). After they published the second issue they sought out Herron, Chalk and Crompton, who they knew by reputation. These six formed the core of Archigram. In 1963 the group was invited by Theo Crosby to exhibit on "The Living City" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which became a manifesto of sorts.

Walking City

Herron is remembered for his "Walking City", later described as "the international icon of radical architecture of the Sixties". Between 1964 and 1966, the concepts for the Walking City were published in

, consisting of multi-story buildings mounted on giant telescopic steel legs, creating an ovoid and insect-like form. While highly detailed, the drawings show little about how the ideas are meant to work in practice. These cities are considered to represent

technological utopianism Technological utopianism (often called techno-utopianism or technoutopianism) is any ideology based on the premise that advances in science and technology could and should bring about a utopia, or at least help to fulfill one or another utopian ...

. Resembling the

Maunsell Forts The Maunsell Forts are towers built in the Thames Estuary, Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They were operated as army and navy forts, and named for their designer, Guy Maunsell. The for ...

, they appeared warlike to some, leading Herron to be heckled at a conference in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

in 1966 when he spoke about the Walking City. However, they were intended to be more like "survival pods" than weapons.

Personal life

Herron married Pat Ginn in 1954 and they were together until he died. They had two sons. Herron died at

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford, London, Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the we ...

, Essex on 1 October 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herron, Ron 1930 births 1994 deaths 20th-century English architects Artists from London Architects from London Academics of the University of East London Architecture related to utopias Pentagram partners Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic