Archigram: Experimental architecture, 1961-1974

This catalogue from an exhibition in Mito, Japan, is just one of many outputs that continue to be written on that most influential of British architectural groups, Archigram – indeed, the global influence of their ideas needs no elaboration. There have been a number of important venues for exhibitions on Archigram over the past few years, including in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul, Vienna, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Design Museum in London. These Archigram catalogues have been translated into Japanese, Korean, French, etc. This has helped to keep the ideas of Archigram relevant to today’s architectural practice. So although the group can be said to have only lasted in the loosest possible fashion from 1961-1974, its ongoing significance can be seen in the numerous books, articles, doctoral theses, etc. which continue to be written now. The most telling sign of this influence was the award to Archigram, including Greene, of the RIBA’s Royal Gold Medal (2002). The most significant recent contribution to the discussion of Archigram’s work has been Simon Sadler’s book: Archigram: Architecture without Architecture (MIT Press, 2005), which charts the worldwide impact of the group until this day. Only four of the original six ‘core’ members of Archigram are still alive today, and while it is notoriously difficult for outsiders to define exactly what each member’s contribution was, the work of Greene is regarded as being truly seminal and accounts for at least 25% of Archigram’s ongoing contribution to current architectural discourse around the world. Greene has continued to lecture extensively on the ideas and projects of the Archigram group around the world, such as at the University of Tokyo (January 2005), or at the Royal College of Art as part of the ‘Group Therapy’ series organised by Nigel Coates (October 2005).