Wearable Houses and Walking Cities

Looking at 60's - 70's pop-inspired architectural collaborations - beautiful drawing/collages that clearly influenced the graphic scene -

Archigram was an avant-garde architectural group formed in the 1960s - based at the Architectural Association, London - that was futurist, anti-heroic and pro-consumerist, drawing inspiration from technology in order to create a new reality that was solely expressed through hypothetical projects. (Most of their plans were never actualized.)

Instant City is a mobile technological event that drifts into underdeveloped, drab towns via air balloons with provisional performance spaces in tow. The effect is a deliberate over-stimulation to produce mass culture, with an embrace of advertising aesthetics. The whole endeavor is intended to eventually move on, leaving behind advanced technology hook-ups.

V+A article

MIT article

Instant City/ Peter Cook / Archigram

Plug-in City / Peter Cook/ Archigram

Walking City 1964 Ron Herron/ Archigram

Most famous of Archigram projects, started trend of mobility. City‐sized pod with

legs. Allowed the city to move locations, for weather changes, natural disasters,

economical needs,etc.

“The pre-packaged frozen lunch is more important than Palladio”
Peter Cook, Archigram

Plug‐in City  1964

Consisted of a mega structure with removable, use‐specific units. The city not only

allowed units to plug into the city, but also allowed linking between entire cites.

Suitaloon is a speculative design for a personal, individual and portable dwelling unit which may be ‘worn’ for transport and unpacked for occupation.

Each suit has a plug serving functions similar to a key. This plug allows one to connect to another Suitaloon or leave own house or pack to be collected upon return. When number of suitaloons are interconnected larger communities could also be formed. 

Suitaloon / Michael Webb / Archigram