An exhibition design for the Weekend Telegraph Colour Supplement (Newspaper) and Harrods Department Store. A set design to illustrate the sort of facilities which would be expected of a domestic space in the near future, with obvious implications for the design of any environment.
Archigram
The Archigram Group was commissioned in 1967 by the
Weekend Telegraph to design a 'house for the year 1990'. Naturally the definitions of function imply a fixed and permanent location. In essence the exhibited area illustrates the main part of the lower floor of a swelling cage [...] The 'Robots' are a development in the direct lineage of the media trolley (see Plug'n Clip house) and the moveable services, walls and machines that serve the occupants in Mike Webb's projects.
Walls, ceilings floors - in this living area - are wall, ceiling and floor conditions, which adjust according to your needs. The enclosures of the living area are no longer rigid, but adjustable, programmed to move up and down, in and out. The floor state, too, is variable. At particular points the floor can be made hard enough to dance on or soft enough to sit on.
Seating and sleeping arrangements are inflatable, and details such as weight of bedcovers and number or cushioned elements are controlled by the user. the old concept of a movable chair has become a travelling chair-car. The model in the living area is designed on the hovercraft principle, and can also be used outside for driving around the megastructure city. The bed capsule can also change to a hovercraft and run outside. The robots can shoot out screens which enclose a required area of space. The ceiling lowers at this point, and whoever requires it has a private area. The robots are movable. Refreshments can be drawn from them. They contain a compressor for blowing up the inflatable furniture. They also have an element for extracting dust from the living area. the robots also incorporate radio and television - including favourite movies and education programmes, which can be switched on when you want them. The television is, at the present stage of development, seen on wide screens, and can be programmed so that viewers are surrounded by realistic sound, colour and scent effects. the service wall connects with a wast service stack, shared with the megastructure city, which is one of the key facilities of the structure.
Each living area is fitted with ultrasonic cooking equipment for cleanest, quickest cooking, but otherwise arrangements will depend on the interest of the cook. the design of the living area goes some way towards allaying the widely-held fears that the future points inevitably to standardization and conformity of living accommodation.
Archigram
Archigram, Edited by Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Dennis Crompton, David Greene, Ron Herron & Mike Webb, 1972 [reprinted New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999].
Living, 1990
Archigram Group
The intention of this exhibit, sponsored by the
Weekend Telegraph on show this month at Harrods in Knightsbridge, is to demonstrate how computer technology and concepts of expendability and personal leisure might influence the form of future homes. The living space is intended to be in a space frame or suspended within a tensegrity structure. Enclosure is created by skins which close together or separate electronically. The floor and ceiling can be transformed from hard to soft as acoustic/space/light regulators or inflated in certain areas as required for reclining and sleeping. The adjustable screens of the robot towers (robots Fred and James), define smaller areas within the main volume where one can be totally enclosed - enveloped in an event generated by the projection of films, light, sound and smellies. The push of a button or a spoken command, a bat of an eyelid will set these transformations in motion - providing what you want where and when you need it. Each member of a family will choose what they want - the shape and layout of their spaces, their activities or what have you. The hover chairs will provide an instant link-up with local amenities or access to the nearest transit interchange. A fully intergrated systems approach to domestic bliss.
Architectural Design, vol. 37, March 1967, pp. 146-147.
