Architects’ Club : Clerkwell : London

As London has the world’s highest number of international working graduates in the field of architecture, there is need for an independent* club where they can meet and have semi-formal or informal gatherings or feel that they can just ‘drop by’. This can include lectures, seminars, eating, drinking**, indoor sport, chilling-out, etc.

Location: Farringdon Road at corner of Rosebery Avenue. The site chosen is at the current epicenter of the more interesting architects’ studios: round the corner from Zaha, Grimshaw, CZWG, Wilkinson-Eyre and dozens more. It is currently a strip of dowdy late 19th century houses backing onto the HQ of Amnesty International and across the street from Exmouth Market, a street of bars, restaurants and daytime food tents. (See Peter Cook article on Exmouth Market in ‘Log’ 17).

Pursuit of the project involves:
a/ Defining a new institution that is not ‘institutional’ in the narrow sense.
b/ Capturing the essence of a place where you can really be relaxed.
c/ Overlaying this with facilities that are identifiable, but not inflexible.
d/ Dealing with a simple, linear site that is near to a vibrant area.
e/ Absorbing an equivalent quantity of residential volume into the building in addition to the ‘Club’ as described.

* In theory, London already has two ‘architects’ clubs’: the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) and the AA (Architectural Association). Together with the Bartlett and the Architecture Foundation they each host about 30 public lectures in a year but are not as loose as they could be.
** Europeans are into social drinking much more than Americans and the majority of working graduates in London are from the EU.

THE CRITERIA FOR THE PROJECT ARE ESSENTIALLY TO DO WITH HUMAN OBSERVATION AND THE FORMAL INTERPRETATION OF NEED AND ATMOSPHERE. THIS IS NOT AN EXERCISE IN THEORY.

Irregular Schedule
Peter Cook\’s studio will meet Thursday and Fridays on the following dates:
Thursday, August 28
Friday, August 29
Thursday, September 11
Friday, September 12
Week beginning Monday, September 22 – studio trip to London
Thursday, October 9*
Friday, October 10*
Thursday, October 23
Friday, October 24
Thursday, November 6
Friday, November 7
Thursday, November 20
Friday, November 21

*Will likely meet earlier this week.
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