AA Archives: Projects, Personalities & Publics, AA Gallery

17th February to 26 March; Private view 18 February

AA Archives: Projects, Personalities & Publics charts the legacy of architectural experimentation across the first 100 years of the AA Diploma School, seen through materials sourced primarily from the AA Archive, which was launched as an open learning resource in 2009. Alongside other established collections that include the AA Library and Photo Library, the Archive is housed in a dedicated space containing drawings, models and other materials relating to student projects, as well as posters, documents and ephemera. This exhibition draws upon objects from these collections, as well as loans and donations from former students, teachers and members.

The show features many celebrated and influential AA projects, with schemes including the legendary ‘Tomorrow Town’, a pioneering modernist town planning scheme from 1937–38; an experimental, megastructural city of vertical and horizontal Unites d’ Habitation proposed by Pat Crooke, Andrew Derbyshire and John Voelcker in 1951–52; a ‘Flexikit Steel Home’ pack by Andrew Holmes from 1972, presented in a plastic bag complete with self assembly model components; and Brian Ma Siy’s 1984 ‘Terminal 5 Air Hotel’, which captures the graphic energy and excitement from 25 years ago. These and many other projects by former students – including Sir David Chipperfield, Tony Fretton, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and Cedric Price – will be exhibited in the gallery alongside rarely seen film footage and sound recordings of iconic AA events. See http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/PUBLIC/WHATSON/exhibitions.php#translated-by