Colin Fournier was an architect and urban planner from Great Britain, mostly known for his connection with the avant-garde architectural team Archigram; he passed away. Archigram was an avant-garde architecture group operating between the 1960s and the 1970s, an idea that viewed architecture as an experimental engagement with new technology, mobility, and flexibility.
Fournier was an integral part of the radical investigations at Archigram, but he is likely most famous for his post-Archigram collaboration with Peter Cook in the design of Kunsthaus Graz-the celebrated “friendly alien” museum in Austria that finally realized many of the group’s most futuristic and experimental ideas. Fournier contributed to architecture both as a teacher and creator, leaving his signature on this profession by combining technological novelty with fantastic design.
Colin Fournier practiced at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, where he held a professorship and later on became Emeritus Professor. In Bartlett, Fournier taught a generation of students who were interested in architecture through his innovative and rather unconventional insight into both architectural theory and practice.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of Colin’s death. He taught me at The Bartlett and for more than dozen years afterwards we worked together as colleagues. It was a privilege – and a continuation of my education – to teach alongside him. He was urbane and charming and had a globetrotting and exotic backstory including his work with Archigram, planning mega-projects in the desert for Parsons and delivering La Villette with Bernard Tschumi.” said Jonathan Kendall.
“He maintained a strong pastoral care role and in his ‘eyeball sessions’ made time for one-to-one conversations with every single student. He had kept the creative and fresh thinking from his time with Archigram, encouraging us to be experimental and have fun while thinking about urban design. His ‘friendly alien’, as he called the Kunsthaus in Graz, was a testimony of his approach to design.” said Pablo Sendra, Associate Professor in Planning and Urban Design of The Bartlett.
