Norwich University of the Arts presents the Peter Cook: Wonder Hub

Norwich University of the Arts is excited to present the Peter Cook: Wonder Hub – a new vibrant and interactive art commission situated in Bank Plain, a former grade-II listed bank which is being transformed into a cutting-edge space for thinking, making, showcasing and debating the creative arts.

The project, designed by British architect Sir Peter Cook, invites students across all disciplines, university staff, researchers, architects, and the public to engage with the creative possibilities of ‘wonder’, exploring innovation, communication, experimental practice and drawing – as important aspects of human nature.

Cook has been a pivotal figure within architecture for over half a century. As a founding member of the visionary group Archigram in the early 1960s, he helped establish new radical possibilities for architecture globally.

Incorporating an enveloping three-dimensional structure of life size digital renderings, digital prints, and an ongoing rotation of drawings and data, the Peter Cook: Wonder Hub will also act as a broadcasting studio from which seminars and experiments will be networked internationally.

It offers an immersive environment in which wonder becomes both a method of exploration and a space of speculative imagination. As a ‘hub’, the commission is a unique instrument – a ‘living archive’ of Cook’s prolific architectural drawing, research, and design practice.

More than this, Cook sees it as a centre for the exhibition and discussion of the work of others from all over the world who broadly fit into the category of ‘Experimental Architecture’.

Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, the Peter Cook: Wonder Hub will act as a catalyst for symposia, talks, and workshops, serving as an international hotspot for visiting architects, architectural drawing makers, designers, artists, and theorists.

Professor Ben Stopher, who assumes the role of Vice-Chancellor in November 2025, commented:

“Our vision for Peter Cook’s Wonder Hub is to really engage with architectural thought – as a way to understand the architectural imagination and the power of visualisation and world building across our disciplines. The Peter Cook: Wonder Hub reflects the University’s commitment to furthering the role of research-led practice through collaboration, creative expression, and experimentation.”

The Peter Cook: Wonder Hub continues a series of ambitious artist commissions for Bank Plain, which has seen the exhibition of a major text piece by Mark Titchner, now displayed at the Rivers Centre development at Hellesdon Hospital, and a suspended kinetic installation by Andrew Kearney, subsequently acquired by Norwich University of the Arts with support from Art Fund.

About Sir Peter Cook

Sir Peter Cook first gained international recognition through the visionary group Archigram, whose conceptual projects — including Plug-In City (1963–66) — continue to challenge ideas at the intersection of architecture, technology, and society.

Alongside these influential unrealised works, Cook’s built projects include Kunsthaus Graz in Austria (completed in 2003 with Colin Fournier), the architecture school of Bond University, Queensland (2014), the Law School of the Vienna Business University (2015) and the Drawing Studio (2016) and Innovation Studio (2021) for Arts University Bournemouth.

His work has been the subject of numerous publications and exhibitions, and in 2002 he was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Royal Gold Medal, the institution’s highest honour.

A celebrated teacher and writer, Cook served as Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, and as Chair of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 and awarded an honorary doctorate by Lund University, Sweden, in 2010. He is a Royal Academician, a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres of the French Republic, and currently a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art, London.

Over the course of his career, he has taught at institutions including University College London, the Architectural Association, the Städelschule in Frankfurt, Harvard University, Columbia University, SCI-Arc, USC Architecture, Rice University UCLA and SCI-Arc.

Cook’s drawings are held in major public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt; FRAC Centre, Orléans; M+ Museum of Art, Hong Kong; Japan Architect Collection, Tokyo; the National Museum of Art, Oslo; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The Peter Cook: Wonder Hub is designed by the Peter Cook Studio and has been developed with the support of Hahnemühle, CF Smith, and Brewers Decorator Centre.

The commission is produced by:

• Candice Allison, Development Curator (Bank Plain), Norwich University of the Arts
• Cong Ding, Senior Curator/Designer, Peter Cook Studio
• Elin Eyborg, Project Coordinator, Peter Cook Studio and Lecturer in Architecture and Interior Design, Norwich University of the Arts

Photography by Denisa Ilie and the Peter Cook Studio