Opposites fascinate me. I find the dichotomy between the inward and the obviously outward mesmerising. Nowhere is it more obvious than in India where the most experimental people are outwardly ensconced in the most traditional attire for the anarchy is all in the mind. However, from the western point of view, there has to be an outward manifest of the rebellion and true to form, Sir Peter Cook, the highly celebrated architect who is veritable legend in his field, strides into the room wearing a dark suit with brightly coloured neon flower print shirt — as if to inform and announce his standpoint of the flowers being closest to his skin as it were and the suit worn over only to be outwardly more acceptable. “I enjoy the shock value associated with innovative or experimental dressing in staid situations. I remember I was getting an international award for a coloured building and I wore an animal suit for the ceremony — it freaked the audience! On a pretty straight-forward lecture I decided to wear a lion suit! Once I was on an interview panel for admitting architecture students and I wore a yellow suit with multi hued shoes — the students froze!” he exclaims and both of us chuckle at the imagery.

In India in connection with his architecture drawings and sketches that are being exhibited at Gallery Espace at an ongoing show where 34 works of Sir Peter drawn during the ‘60s and year 2000 have been mounted, including the 1963 Montreal Tower: A work made before the existence of the avant-garde group Archigram. Though never built, the Archigram projects and ideas provoked fascinating debates, combining architecture, technology and society; like when Plug-In City was proposed in 1964, it offered a fascinating new approach to urbanism, reversing traditional perceptions of infrastructure’s role in the city.

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Sir Peter says candidly almost as if thinking aloud. Sir Peter is also former director the Institute for Contemporary Art, London (the ICA), and Bartlett School of Architecture at University College, London. He has been a pivotal figure within the global architectural world for over half a century. Known for the smart designs for the architectural wonders he has created. Amongst the landmark wonders created by him are the Arts Building in Graz, Vienna Business and Economics University’s new law faculty and Bond University in Australia’s new School of Architecture to name a few. Sir Peter Cook has also built in Osaka, Nagoya, Berlin, Frankfurt and Madrid.

At a time when half the world is hurtling towards the earth for inspiration, he stands at the opposite end of the politically correct stance saying, “I don’t like earth colours and I am anti natural material as far as my architecture is concerned. I find artificial colours bordering on almost acidic colours fascinating. I tend to make directly pictorial to be directly architectural. I enjoy seeing an intense concentration of colour in site specific situations. The English have a perverse tradition of blowing on something absurd, I make sure I give them enough occasions!” says Sir Peter mischievously.