Venice Architecture Biennale British Pavilion 2018, Exhibit, Images, Designers

Winning Team for British Pavilion at the 16th Venice Biennale

Winning Team for British Pavilion at the 16th Venice Biennale, Italy – La Biennale di Venezia, Italia

29 Sep 2017

British Pavilion at the 16th Venice Biennale

Winning team announced for British Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia

Caruso St John Architects and artist Marcus Taylor will represent the UK at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, the British Council announced today.

A panel of architecture and design specialists from across the UK selected the winning team from a shortlist of four proposals. The successful concept, titled Island, responds to the theme of Freespace, set by Biennale curators Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Grafton Architects. The proposal engages with current political themes and was submitted with the following quote from Shakespeare’s The Tempest:

“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises; Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.”
Peter St John, Partner at Caruso St John Architects: “It is an honour for us to have been selected to curate the British Pavilion. In the year before Brexit, we plan to transform the building into a generous public space that can be a popular meeting point within the gardens of the Biennale.”

Sarah Mann, Director of Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council: “The open call generated a strong field of proposals but the panel was unanimous in its selection. The uncertainties that exist in today’s world give the British Pavilion a new imperative and Island promises to be a thought-provoking installation that I am confident will spark debate.”

Adam Caruso and Peter St John won the Stirling Prize in 2016 for their Newport Street Gallery for Damien Hirst. They have worked on several major arts projects including Tate Britain Millbank and Nottingham Contemporary. Marcus Taylor, originally from Northern Ireland, has collaborated on several projects with the practice, including most recently a joint submission for the UK Holocaust Memorial.

The British Council has been responsible for the British Pavilion in Venice since 1937, showcasing the best of the UK’s artists, architects, designers and curators. The accompanying talks and the Venice Fellowships initiative, introduced in 2016, along with the Pavilion Patrons scheme help make the British Pavilion a platform for discussion about contemporary art and architecture.

About Caruso St John Architects
Adam Caruso and Peter St John established their practice in 1990 after meeting whilst working for ARUP Associates and Florian Beigel. The practice rose to prominence after winning an international competition for the acclaimed New Art Gallery Walsall in 1995. Caruso St John Architects’ engagement with the art world has been profound and notable for the creation of museum and gallery environments that enjoy the confidence of curators and artists alike.

Recent cultural projects include the Stirling Prize-winning Newport Street Gallery for Damien Hirst, Nottingham Contemporary, the Millbank Project at Tate Britain and spaces for the Gagosian Gallery in London, Paris, Rome and Hong Kong.

The practice’s portfolio also includes projects that intervene directly in the centre of the European city. Recent projects include the Lycée Hotelier de Lille, a new head office for the Bremer Landesbank in Bremen, the new ZSC Lions ice hockey stadium in Zurich, as well as substantial mixed-use developments in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Antwerp and Zurich.

In parallel with their practice the partners have taught internationally at institutions including Harvard University, the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio and the London School of Economics. Peter St John is currently a visiting professor at London Met University and Adam Caruso is Professor of Architecture and Construction at the ETH Zurich.

Caruso St John Architects

About Marcus Taylor
Marcus Taylor was born in Belfast in 1964. He grew up in Northern Ireland before attending Camberwell School of Art (BA) and The Slade School (Postgraduate). He has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad including the Saatchi Gallery and the British Art Show.

His work has been collected by several major institutions including the Tate, Fondation Cartier and private collectors. He has worked on large scale projects including a bridge over Paddington Basin with engineers Buro Happold. Recently he has collaborated with Caruso St John Architects on a proposal for the UK Holocaust Memorial, one of 10 shortlisted projects.

He has been awarded a RIBA East Award, RIBA East Small Project Award and has been nominated for the RIBA House of the Year for a collaborative project with Lisa Shell Architects. This was also commended in the 2017 Architectural Review House award. He lives and works in London.

Selection panel
The UK’s presentation at the Venice Biennale is selected by an advisory panel of leading architecture professionals, from across the UK. The panel membership changes for every edition of the biennale. The panel selecting the 2018 pavilion was chaired by Sarah Mann, Director of Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council and included: Gary Boyd, Reader in Architecture at Queen’s University, Belfast and Head of Architecture Pablo Bronstein, artist Suzy Jones, Director, RIBA North Amanda Levete, founder and principal of AL_A Philip Long, Director, V&A Dundee Debika Ray, Senior Editor, ICON

Winning Team for British Pavilion at the 16th Venice Biennale information from British Council 290917

Location: Venice, Italy