Sir Peter Cook keynotes the ArchiFest Forum in Singapore and talks about the next architecture school he envisions writes Yvonne Xu.
October 25th, 2011
“You are not quite sure what you mean by common spaces; each person has his own interpretation,” remarks Sir Peter Cook.
The comment came when the 75-year-old architect was in Singapore to keynote the ArchiFest Forum, a conference organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects as part of the city’s annual architecture festival.
This year’s theme is ’Common Spaces’.
Kunsthaus Graz, Austria
Interestingly, as the final speaker, Cook’s response is a pointed sum-up of the day’s discussion, contributed too by the preceding 8 invited speakers and architects who all had individual takes on the topic. To Cook, the most interesting understanding is the space between buildings or parts of a building – the “interstitial space”.
Vienna University of Economics and Business
“The next common space I design will be a wonderful, unexpected crevice within the city that reveals that all is not what is seems,” hints Cook. Does he mean the new School of Architecture at the Gold Coast’s Bond University whose sod-turning ceremony he is en route to after his brief stop in Singapore? The knighted Englishman only answers, “Possibly”.
Vienna University of Economics and Business
To Cook, who has undertaken this Australian project with his principal partner Gavin Robotham, the ideal campus for aspiring architects is open, airy, and free and features an internal street with large concrete ’scoops’ where sessions such as crits, presentations and constructions – as well as other informal activities – can be held. The building digs into the ground so that workshops can open out into a ’pit’ where experimental and demonstration projects are exposed to the deck and garden – “the important thing is to have escape routes,” Cook says half-jokingly.
School of Architecture at Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia
Looking back at his long career as both an academe and architect, Cook says architecture “is a pursuit which allows you to be interested in sociology and art and environment and weather and people and vegetation and sustainability and folklore and nationalism and anti-nationalism and communications theory and physics” – basically an all-inclusive profession whose wide scope you might not always get a hold on – just like the frustrating but also fascinating notion of common spaces.
Sir Peter Cook/Crab Studio
crabstudio.blogspot.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
In the pursuit of an uplifting synergy between the inner world and the surrounding environment, internationally acclaimed Interior Architect and Designer Lorena Gaxiola transform the vibration of the auspicious number ‘8’ into mesmerising artistry alongside the Feltex design team, brought to you by GH Commercial.
Booking is essential for this not to be missed seminar. Please phone (03) 9650 4733 to book.
Award-winning designer Vessi Ivanova has joined the specialist lighting team at Northrop Consulting Engineers.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Welcome to the year of the Design Effect. This year’s theme aims to showcase the profound ripple effects that exceptional design can have on people, place and planet. Join in shaping this narrative by contributing your perspective before May 3, 2024, and become a part of the Design Effect movement.
Boasting unmatched cooking and food preservation capabilities, Sub-Zero and Wolf enable designers to set a new standard for kitchen design, and inspire a higher quality of culinary experience.