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ARCHIGRAM 1960mass consumptiondigital cultureGlobalisationArchitectural group of 1960s futuristic, anti heroic, pro consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology projects hypothetical.Dominated the architectural avant garde in 1960s Play full pop inspired visions of technocratic futureFormed by a group of London architects Warren ChalkPeter CookDennis CromptonDavid GreeneRon HerronMicheal WebbSteel can be rolled to any length, balloon blown to any size, plastic can be molded to any shapeArchigram magazine published in 1961 with poems, sketches of architectural projects, voiced the frustration with intellectual conservatism of British architecture establishmentHigh tech , light waieght , infrastructural approachextraordinary technological advances, first man in space , first weather satellite launched, photocopier invented, laser action holograms, changes in cinema

WALKING CITYRon Herron 1964Walking City imagines a future in which borders and boundaries are abandoned in favor of a nomadic lifestyle among groups of people worldwide. Constituted by intelligent buildings or robots, giant form self contained living pods. Inspired by NASA's towering, mobile launch pads, hovercraft, and science fiction comics, Archigram envisioned parties of itinerant buildings that travel on land and sea. Like so many of Archigram's projects, Walking City anticipated the fast-paced urban lifestyle of a technologically advanced society in which one need not be tied down to a permanent location. The structures are conceived to plug into utilities and information networks at different locations to support the needs and desires of people who work and play, travel and stay put, simultaneously. By means of this nomadic existence, different cultures and information is shared, creating a global information market that anticipates later Archigram projects, such as Instant City and Ideas Circus. Combination of insect and machine. Living pods independent and parasitic, plug in to way stations for resources.

Walking City in New York, 1964 Ron Herron, Archigram

PLUG-IN CITYWarren Chalk + Peter Cook + Dennis Crompton 1964Plug-In City is one of the first mega structures no buildings conceived by Archigram. Massive framework in which dwellings in the form of cells / standard compartments slotted. The project incorporates notions first developed in City Interchange about channeling traffic, information, and support systems, but within an urban setting where people live and work. Plug-In City consists of a network of access ways to transportation and essential services, such as electricity, plumbing, and heating, upon which housing and commercial modules are attached via a system of service cranes. The structure is tubular and multi-layered, based on the archetypal medieval city wall. The tubular wall structure serves as a viaduct for the channeling of services and communication networks to live/work modules attached to the framework. The modules are designed for obsolescence to be replaced by newer more efficient models, resulting in a cityscape that is in a perpetual state of metamorphosis.

Plug in City

PLUG-IN CITYBathroom, kitchen, living room floor: 3-year obsolescenceLiving rooms, bedrooms: 5-8 year obsolescenceLocation of house unit: 15 years durationImmediate-use sales space in shops: 6 monthsShopping location: 3-6 yearsWorkplaces, computers, etc: 4 yearsCar silos and roads: 20 yearsMain megastructure: 40 yearsCUSHICLEMike Webb 1966Reducing to an extreme the notion of mobile architecture explored earlier by Ron Herron on the grand scale of Walking City, Michael Webb designed Cushicle as a mobile housing unit for an individual. Consisting of an inflatable skin attached to a rigid spine, the unit provides all the comforts of a dwelling including radio and television, and satisfies fundamental sustenance needs with ports for access to water, heat, and food. Cushicle precedes the more streamlined Suitaloon (essentially an ambulatory version of Cushicle) and demonstrates the refinement of Archigram's vision of the portable environment - one that responds more and more directly to individual human needs and desires.

CUSHICLE