“Even If You Want to Be a Gardener, Study Architecture”: Archigram Co-Founder Sir Peter Cook on Boldness, Creativity, and Architectural Education

Sir Peter Cook is an English architect, professor, and writer, and a founding member of the neo-futuristic design group Archigram, alongside Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, David Greene, and Michael Webb. Beyond the group's radical urban concepts and visionary imagery, he co-founded CRAB Studio (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau) with David Robotham in 2006, where they have developed built, conceptual, and speculative projects. He recently designed the Play Pavilion, located next to Serpentine South in Kensington Gardens, which opened on World Play Day, June 11, 2025. He is also known for the BIX Light and Media Façade at MoMA and for his series of drawings and collages that explore spaces, building elements, and organic landscapes. In this second interview with ArchDaily, he reflects on artificial intelligence, the impact of COVID-19 on his own practice, and current architectural pedagogies, among other timely themes.

The Market Plaza as Civic Core: 5 Projects that Explore Contemporary Approaches to Market Design in Mexico

Contemporary Mexican market architecture frequently draws inspiration from its pre-Hispanic precedents. The Tlatelolco Market in ancient Tenochtitlan, for example, featured a large, stone-paved open square with designated "streets", which were divided into sections for specific goods, serving as a significant gathering point for social and economic exchange. Similarly, the tradition of the Tianguis, an ephemeral market typology within the broader Mesoamerican tradition, also arranged stalls in aisles within a public plaza, reflecting organizational principles seen in Tlatelolco. These historical models established a base for the tradition of marketplaces in Mexico and the countries in Central America, where they merge public space and structured layouts for commerce. Today, even though many of Mexico's commercial spaces, notably Mexico City's Central de Abasto and other markets such as the Jamaica, Merced, and San Juan Markets, have taken on a stationary approach to serving their communities, tianguis maintain their foothold in Mexican society.

Loures Riverfront / Topiaris Landscape Architecture

The initial premise of Loures Riverfront was to complete the intermunicipal pedestrian and cycling continuity, connecting Lisbon to Vila Franca de Xira, and to consolidate an important strategic plan that aims to implement a continuous route along the Tagus Riverfront in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.

Hotham House / Austin Maynard Architects

Embedded within lush foliage on an established suburban street just off the National Circuit, with a direct view of the flag over Parliament House, Hotham seeks to slow down and consider Canberra's past, present, and future built environment. Working to demonstrate the importance of responding to, rather than erasing the cultural and architectural fabric of Australia's Capital city - a city which 'embodies the Australian spirit and symbolises Australian life and achievement.'

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