Catherine Cooke facts for kids
Catherine Anne Chichester-Cooke (1942–2004), known as Catherine Cooke, was a British architect and a very respected expert on Russian history and culture. She taught design at the Open University and also lectured at the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.
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About Catherine Cooke's Life
Catherine Cooke was born in Bishop's Stortford on August 2, 1942. She was the only child of a high-ranking officer in the Royal Engineers. She studied to become an architect at the University of Cambridge from 1961 to 1967. She was one of the few women studying architecture there at the time.
After working briefly as an architect in Helsinki, Finland, and then in London, she returned to Cambridge. There, she earned her Ph.D. in 1975, focusing on how cities were planned in the Soviet Union.
Her Work with Russian Design
After her Ph.D., Catherine became very interested in all parts of Soviet design and architecture. She especially loved Constructivist architecture, which was a cool, modern style from Russia. She wrote many books and articles, and gave lots of talks about these topics.
She helped publish many works about Russian architects and designers, like Chernikhov. Her books on the Russian Avant-garde and Constructivism (art movements after 1917) are very famous. Catherine spoke Russian fluently. She helped people in the West learn about Russian art and culture. She also worked hard to save important Soviet buildings that were in danger. She did this through her role as the UK head of Docomomo. This is an international group that works to save modern buildings and sites.
Her Collection
Over her career, Catherine collected many important books, posters, and other items. This amazing collection, called the Catherine Cooke collection, is now kept at the Cambridge University Library. In 2012, some items from her collection were shown in a special exhibition at the library.
Catherine Cooke passed away on February 20, 2004, in Cambridge. She was at a very busy and important time in her research and writing career.
What Catherine Cooke Wrote
Here are some of the important books and articles Catherine Cooke contributed to:
- (editor), The Avant-Garde (AD magazine, 1988)
- (editor), Fantasy and Construction – Iakov Chernikhov (AD magazine, vol 59 no 7–8, London 1989)
- Architectural Drawings of the Russian Avant-Garde (MOMA, 1990)
- (with Igor Kazus) Soviet Architectural Competitions (Phaidon, 1992)
- Russian Avant-Garde: Theories of Art, Architecture and the City, Academy Editions, London, 1995
- (with Dennis Sharp) DOCOMOMO: The Modern Movement in Architecture, Uitgeverij, 010 Publishers, 2000.
