The Walking City   Term Paper ID:34002 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: This paper discusses Archigram the s innovative British architecture group that spawned futuristic and ...... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 12 sources, 12 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: This paper discusses Archigram, the 1960's innovative British architecture group that spawned futuristic and idealistic architectural drawings that redefined the concept of livable space. Focusing on one of their projects, the Walking City by Ron Herron, it addresses the concept of individual choice and the effects of mobility as factors in urbanism. Paper Introduction: The Walking City Archigram was a collective of six young renegade British architects Warren Chalk Peter Cook Dennis Crompton David Greene Ron Herron andMichael Webb who sought to turn the established notion of architecture assomething permanent static and enduring on its ear Wolfe Their name Archigram was derived from a publication they produced called theArchitectural Telegram Coming into s pop culture at the same time asthe Beatles they have been recognized as the Beatles of architecture oras Stanley Abercrombie suggested the Fab Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. ARCSPACE.COM. "Two psychogeographies: Archigram and the Situationists." November 11, 2 . Herron's concept presents an alternative thatallows people to move their house any time they need a better location tolive in, a capability that radically alters the traditional view ofarchitecture and transforms a city from streets with rows of houses to abackdrop for a dynamic, ever-changing panorama where the house that was onthe corner yesterday is across town today. Archigram!"). Design Museum British Council. Urban life would fall from favor, andmobile life would step up into its place. "Archigram." Answers.com. Idealistic andhigh-tech, the drawings depicted a world equipped to survive the aftermathof a nuclear war. And then, just as in so manycenturies before, there would be another type of class conflict: the oldtraditional city with its stationary buildings and permanent neighborhoodswould become the slum that no one wants to live in, and the new WalkingCity would become the "happening" place to be-more of an event than alocation. These post-war architects designed futuristic hypothetical projectsenvisioning a new reality ("Archigram," Wikipedia). "Yesterday's Tomorrow." The Stranger. You can blow up a balloon-any size.You can mould plastic-any shape" (Thomas). Instead ofbeing anchored to traditional housing concepts, Archigram blew the lid offand invited fantasy to meet utility. "The group experimented with clip-on technology,throwaway environment, space capsules and mass-consumer imagery. People still living inthe old-style houses would suffer estrangement from those who lived in thenew Walking City. Blam! Keeping intouch with friends and acquaintances or finding someone who keeps movingwould be a job for detectives. As David Greene pointed out in 1961,"You can roll out steel-any length. In a recent interview,Archigram architect Peter Cook explained the premise of the Walking City:"You can have your city anywhere and the city will go to find where theaction is" ("The Legacy of Archigram"). August 5-11, 1999. Their designs were somewhatirreverent, ingenious devices that would fulfill the functions oftraditional buildings but with a flexibility and ability to move that madethem more like robotic devices than buildings ("Archigram," Architects(1961-1974)). The Walking City "Archigram was a collective of six young renegade British architects(Warren Chalk, Peter Cook, Dennis Crompton, David Greene, Ron Herron, andMichael Webb) who sought to turn the established notion of architecture assomething permanent, static, and enduring on its ear" (Wolfe). Their architecturepromoted consumer choice and centered on the mobility and malleability thatthey believed could set people free. "Wham! http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/saturday/stories/s1351558.htmAbercrombie, Stanley. Archigram did thisand much more; in the Walking City and their other fanciful inventions,they elevated the needs of the individual above the needs of the city andsparked a revolution in architectural thought that is still going on today. Theirworks offered a seductive vision of a glamorous future machine age, howeversocial and environmental issues were left unaddressed" ("Archigram,"Answers.com). Ultimately, the Walking City'sdisadvantages would likely outweigh its strengths. The idea of a moveable city, a suit that turned into ahouse, and a house that could walk was an affront to traditionalarchitecture and a salute to the ability of technology to transformtraditional buildings into vehicles. Developinglong-term relationships with neighbors would be difficult. These were magnificently drawn projections and expertlyassembled collages that "{instantly evoked a future of change andadaptability, flow and movement" ("The Archigram Vision"). Blam! Fun, play and pleasure were the rationale for archigrams projects, not as recreation, the pause that refreshes, between stretches of productive labour, but as an epistemology and an end in itself ("Peter Cook"). "Metropolis What Goes Up: Amazing Archigram." April 1998. Their name,Archigram, was derived from a publication they produced called theArchitectural Telegram. One of the more feasible concepts was Ron Herron's Walking City, acollection of robot-like intelligent buildings in the form of giant podsthat could roam the cities. Radio National. TheWalking City also appeared to be a multi-family dwelling, more like anapartment house than a one-family house. The idea of a city that respondsto the needs of the individual by moving and adapting as needed foreveralters the view of cities as preplanned, constructed, and eternally placed. It has been said of Archigram that "the young group aimed to convincestodgy city planners and architects to view change as 'the naturalcondition [in a city] instead of permanence'" (Dang). Although a Walking City has much to recommend it-the ability to escapea bad neighborhood, a way out of a polluted environment, a workaround forthe inconvenience of urban transportation, an easy move to the country, orthe ability to rearrange a city overnight-the effects of this dynamicenvironment would be, to say the least, unsettling. The pods could move independently but couldalso plug in to way stations to exchange occupants or restock supplies("Archigram," Answers.com). "THE ARCHIGRAM VISION." FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS ARCHIVES. "The Beatles of architecture." March 31, 2 4. "FEATURE: ROK ON." Sorkin, Michael. http://www.v- 2.org/displayArticle.php?article_num=3 "Peter Cook." Design Boom. In a sense, the Walking Citywas not much different from an RV, except that instead of travelingsedately on the highways and byways, it could go anywhere at will. http://www.answers.com/topic/archigramWolfe, Shawn. People who learn howto get somewhere by memorizing the landscape would be lost. http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/cook.html"Royal Gold Medal 2 2." "The Legacy of Archigram." Saturday Breakfast with Geraldine Doogue 23/ 4/2 5. As event competed with estrangement, event would win, and thelonely, unwanted stationary buildings would become the rejects of thecurrent society. Archigram!" Artnet. Adam Greenfield points out in "Two psychogeographies: Archigram andthe Situationists," Many commentators can't help pointing out that though the Walking City remains a clever idea and an arresting image, it was never fully worked out by Archigram, in either its social or technical dimensions. Greenfield, Adam. set itself the task not of revolutionizing architecture, but rather of the way of thinking about it. As the old city became vacant and faded, the new WalkingCity would become the place to be. Jacob, Sam. The limits of its investigation were the relationship between cities and the new technologies of information, movement and perception. This seems to me to be a sterling example of missing the point, Archigram putting me very much in mind of what Brian Eno is supposed to have said about the Velvet Underground, that "only 1 people ever bought their records, but every one of them went out and started a band" (2 ).The issue is not so much whether the Walking City is doable or not butwhether it fundamentally changed the concept of cities and the directionthey would take for the future. "Archigram." Architects (1961-1974). As such, it represented acommunity rather than an individual. Works Cited"Archigram." Wikipedia. Archigram's innovation is that it questions urbanism itself and opensthe way for a redefinition of cities, houses, and "other archetypal formsof architecture" ("Royal Gold Medal 2 2"). Coming into 196 's pop culture at the same time asthe Beatles, they have been recognized as the Beatles of architecture, oras Stanley Abercrombie suggested, "the Fab Six" ("Wham! In spite of the drawbacks associated with trying to develop an actualWalking City, the concept itself is exciting and full of possibilities.Archigram's hep new ideas brought a fresh wave of optimism to Britain'sotherwise dreary, cookie-cutter concept of cities (Sorkin). Undeniably, it did: The Archigram ... Thomas. Archigram's surrealistic projects included such amazing concepts asPeter Cook's Plug-in City assembled from cranes, pods, Zeppelins, andflashing signs that could "roll into town, bolt together and plug itself inovernight" (Jacob). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

Many of our Papers can be Downloaded From This Site!

PLEASE READ THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT!

Office hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). You may place orders for custom research over the phone during office hours. E-mail requests can be made to our graduate and undergraduate department any time, and will be reviewed during office hours. You may also contact customer service any time through e-mail, and we will review your message during business hours. A great many papers can be downloaded right from this site, but not all of them. If you would like to know if a particular paper is downloadable, just look in the description for: "Available for Internet Download: Y" or "Available for Internet Download: N" If you wish to purchase a paper which is NOT available for immediate download, you will need to make other shipping arrangements. Also, please be aware that these orders are processed Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). If you place your order after 4:45pm on Friday, it will not be processed until the following Monday morning. We charge $8 per page for all of our pre-written reports, plus shipping (and tax for California residents). However, the highest cost of any ONE report is $136, or 17 pages. Please, take a moment. Make sure you have chosen the report you want or need BEFORE you complete your order. If you are not sure, allow us to help you. We do not offer refunds or exchanges, so it is important for you to let us answer your questions during office hours. Reports which are e-mailed or downloaded are in Microsoft Word format. We are making more reports available for e-mail delivery faster than we can update our listings. Please call to check on the status of particular reports. There are many other shipping options which are listed on the Checkout page.