Plug-in University Node, project (Elevation)

Peter Cook

1965

A 1965 watercolor-on-photolithograph elevation by Peter Cook proposing a speculative “Plug‑in University Node” made of prefabricated pods and exposed structural frames that can be assembled and reconfigured.

At first glance it reads like a playful, technical toy: rounded blue modules stacked inside yellow exoskeleton towers, a dramatic green diagonal ramp, and soft pink organic blocks, all rendered with crisp linework, translucent washes, and tiny human figures that give the complex a lively sense of scale and movement.

Rooted in the Archigram experimental tradition, the image visualizes 1960s ideas about modular, mobile, and adaptable architecture and helped advance the graphic and conceptual language that influenced later high‑tech and experimental building practices.

Palette

Art Terms

Architecture Architectural drawing Elevation drawing Watercolor Lithography Prefabrication Radical Architecture Avant-garde

Exhibitions

Integrated Building: Kitchen, Bathroom, and Storage

1945

Architectural Studies and Projects

1975

Built in USA: Post-War Architecture

1953

Modern Architecture for the Modern School

1942