Peter Cook

His achievements with Archigram were recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004, when the group was awarded the Royal Gold Medal.

Peter Cook studied at Arts University Bournemouth and Architectural Association School of Architecture. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with University College London and Special School of Architecture. Work by Peter Cook is recorded in the collections of Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Distinctions recorded are Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and Knight Bachelor.

• Name — Sir Peter Cook • Honorific Suffix — RA • Born — 22 October 1936 • Birthplace — Southend-on-Sea, England • Spouse — Yael Reisner • Children — A. G. Cook • Occupation — Architect Sir Peter Cook (born 22 October 1936) is an English architect, lecturer and writer on architectural subjects. He was a founder of Archigram, and was knighted in 2007 by Elizabeth II for his services to architecture and teaching. He is also a Royal Academician and a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic. His achievements with Archigram were recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2004, when the group was awarded the Royal Gold Medal.

Cook was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. His mother aspired to a career as an artist, while his father served in the UK as an army officer. Cook studied architecture at Bournemouth College of Art from 1953–58. He then entered the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, graduating in 1960.

Cook was a director of London's Institute of Contemporary Arts (1970–1972), chair of architecture at The Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London (1990–2006), and has been the director of Art Net in London and curator of the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. He continues to curate, organise and exhibit around the world: in Seoul, LA, Cyprus, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Design Museum, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, as well as in castles, sheds and garages. He is a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, London. Cook's professorships include those of the Royal Academy, University College London and the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Städelschule) in Frankfurt-Main, Germany. Cook has built in Osaka, Nagoya, Berlin and Madrid. However, it was the construction of his arts building in 2003, the Kunsthaus Graz (also known as 'The Friendly Alien') in Graz, Austria, with Colin Fournier, that brought his work to a wider public. Cook was awarded a knighthood in Elizabeth II's 2007 Birthday Honours List, for services to architecture. In 2013, he completed the Vienna University of Economics and Business's new law faculty and Australia's newest school of architecture, the Abedian School of Architecture at Bond University on the Gold Coast. His first building in the UK, a new drawing studio at the Arts University Bournemouth, was opened by Zaha Hadid in March 2016. He also built the Innovation Studio at the Arts University Bournemouth, which was opened by Odile Decq in 2021. In 2025, Cook built a Play Pavilion at the Serpentine London in collaboration with LEGO. It opened on World Play Day on the 11th June.

• Illustration — Kunsthaus Graz • Illustration — Vienna University of Economics and Business (Department D3 and AD) • 1970 – Monte Carlo Entertainments Centre (with Archigram) • 1990 – Solar Housing, Landstuhl, Germany (with Christine Hawley) • 1992 – Museum of Antiquities, Austria (with Christine Hawley) • 2000 – Kunsthaus Graz (with Colin Fournier) • 2006 – New Theatre Verbania, Italy (with Gavin Robotham) • 2009 – Faculty of Law (D3) and Central Administration (AD), Vienna Business and Economics University (with Gavin Robotham) • 2010 – 2nd prize in the Taiwan Tower international competition (with Gavin Robotham) • 2011 – Soheil Abedian School of Architecture, Bond University on the Gold Coast, Australia (with Gavin Robotham and Brit Andresen) • 2013 – Finalist in the National Stadium of Israel (with POPULOUS) • 2013 – Finalist in the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct

• Professor Emeritus at University College London • Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts • Life Professor at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunste (Städelschule) Frankfurt-Main • Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, London • Honorary Fellow of the Arts University Bournemouth • Member of the Hessische Architektenkammer • Member of the RIBA, Architects Registration Board (ARB) • Fellow of University College London

• Archigram exhibition – 1994 onwards: Vienna, Paris, New York, London, Pasadena, Chicago, Milan, Hamburg, Seoul, Mito, Taipei, Winnipeg, Zurich, Cracow, Zaragoza, Brussels, Rotterdam. • Curator of Venice Biennale of Architecture British Pavilion 2004, Cyprus Pavilion 2006 • Personal exhibitions – various dates: Los Angeles, Tokyo, Oslo, Berlin, Osaka, Frankfurt,

Peter Cook is recorded as architect, writer and teacher.