Hidden Architecture

          After going through this week’s readings, the one that interested me the most was the one talking about “hidden architecture” from the Superstudio guys. Since it was a short read, I started looking for more information to grasp a better understanding of this project. Apparently, there is not a dam thing that I could find on this particular project. So, I decided to go back to the reading to try and pick it apart. I can’t seem to understand the significance of designing something, then never show it to people. Why design it? And the fact that they burned the original drawings and preserved the copies!?!?

I personally do not see this as architecture. It’s more of an art installation, creating a statement that I can’t seem to figure out. If I had to guess, I'm sure technology plays a role within the overall concept of this project. For example, the internet is a system of interlinked hypertext documents that can be accessed via the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW itself (and the way it works) cannot physically be seen. It's a working system that is "HIDDEN". The guys at Superstudio created a system and "hid" it within its own space. But what is the significance of burning the drawings once they were drawn? Maybe I'm just not grasping the big picture. I wish there was more of an explanation of why this project was done.

 On another note, I'm also fascinated with Archigram's "Instant City" project. It's an interesting idea of how a mobile city could drift itself into some part of the world. It would invade a "sleeping city" and sort-of bring it to life. A series of blimps or balloons drop into areas, providing entertainment, food, art, and other ways of life. Talk about a major cultural experience. It makes me wonder what the hell kind of drugs were Peter Cook and David Greene taking to come up with these crazy ideas.