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Caption: "Archigram Group: Warren Chalk, David Greene, Peter Cook, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb, Cedric Price." Peter Cook talks about the British tradition of "being reasonable" which can lead to "lowest common denominator" work. David Greene suggests that architects rarely say no to commissions even if they might not really like the ideas proposed. Ron Herron says that the built environment is "constantly boring"; he criticises a basic tenet of conservation which says that old buildings can’t be improved. Collage of old and new ideas; people on the beach; campsite; funfair; open-air cinema. Captions intercut: "In a changing world why can’t buildings change too?" "Cities are first a number of events and only secondly a collection of buildings." "The architects first concern is the design of living systems that seek out new purposes and functions for themselves and change as life in them changes." "What’s needed is a new architecture to stand beside the space capsules, computers and throwaway packs of an atomic world." Pages from Archigram Magazine. Designs for different kinds of buildings. Professor Reyner Banham talks about the Archigram Group. Images from some Archigram exhibitions which show connections with the Beaubourg: Informaison 1968, Environpole 1969, Plug-In University 1965, Insertions 1968, Oasis 1968. Banham talks about the Centre as being a rare example of such a building actually being constructed as it was conceived. Caption: "Archigram visit Beaubourg." Members of the group in the piazza, and in the street, looking at and discussing the exterior of the Centre, comparing it to their own theories. Main participants in this discussion are David Greene, Ron Herron and Peter Cook; they don’t believe the building really follows their ideas. Captions: "What Archigram wanted were dynamic active buildings, to them Beaubourg seems fixed, rigid…" "… But wasn’t it inevitable that a lot of flexibility and responsiveness would be lost in the fight to get Beaubourg built?" Ron Herron says this was not inevitable. Cedric Price believes that buildings are designed to move or they are not; he feels that the Centre this is not a cartoon of a building, such as Archigram would have produced to illustrate function; here "the cartoon has been built". Denis Postle says that having completed to film to this point, he asked for comments from participants. Captions: "Feedback. It’s good to remember that apart from Archigram- Beaubourg also had its roots in the work of Kazimir Malevich and Naum Gabo. ...Richard Rogers". "Feedback. Alongside Archigram there was also the conversation about the ‘Well-serviced shed’ – in a way Beaubourg is six ‘sheds’ one on top of the other. Alan Stanton". Caption: "Feedback. Renzo Piano…." Piano agrees that Braubourg "is not very dynamic" because of its size, but believes that it does have a relationship with Archigram ideas, and certainly has an aesthetic purpose and polemic. He feels that its architectural features represent a "jokey system of demystifying the use of a cultural building". Denis Postle says that the filming has stirred up a lot of reactions which he records in his own film. |
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