Thursday 6 December 2012

Walking City



    The Walking City is one of Archigram’s most recognizable works. Executed by Warren Chalk and Ron Herron in 1964 , it the clearest representation of Archigram’s quest to design a mobile urbanity. Like many of Archigram’s projects, the Walking City anticipates life in a fast-paced, technologically advanced urban society where individuals are not tied to permanent location. The structures are conceived to plug into static utilities and networks according to the occupants’ needs and have amenities plugged into them. This nomadic existence anticipates some of Archigram’s later projects, which foresee a global information market. Though widely considered impractical, such structures are argued to be solutions to intra-ageing infrastructure.

    This work shows a relationship to the Cushicle and Suitaloon studying minimal technological structures. Like the Cushicle, the function is the aesthetic. Like the Suitaloon, the Walking City anticipates a nomadic lifestyle in any environment.


the walking city in the desert