The British Council today relaunches this year’s British Pavilion exhibition, taking place at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, 22 May - 21 November 2021.
Curated by Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler, The Garden of Privatised Delights takes inspiration from Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. The exhibition reimagines how to make public space more inclusive, countering the rapid rise of privately-owned public space with an inspiring, alternative vision that urges both sectors to work together to create better-designed spaces for all.
In 2020 the Biennale Architettura – one of the most prestigious architecture exhibitions in the world – was postponed due to the impact of Covid-19 on participating national pavilions. Topics explored within The Garden of Privatised Delights take on an almost prophetic urgency as a result of the global pandemic, including the demise of the high street; how facial recognition technology is used; and the decline in dedicated social places for teenagers. The subject of ‘public spaces’ – who owns them, who uses them and how – has also become more pertinent.
“The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of accessible public spaces and made the need to address issues of inequality even more critical” says Madeleine Kessler. “The Garden of Privatised Delights proposes proactive ways in which we can work together towards a more equitable society, including widening consultation on and inclusivity in design, to ensure public spaces are truly accessible to all”.
Manijeh Verghese continues, “The high street, the pub, even the public toilet are more under threat than ever before. Challenges around accessing these spaces are especially pertinent as isolation in communities is being felt even more acutely. How public space has traditionally been designed and used needs urgent rethinking, and The Garden of Privatised Delights intends to inspire and encourage action to support those challenges.”
The British Pavilion will be transformed into a series of six immersive spaces; Verghese and Kessler are keen to offer visitors an interactive experience of architecture, rather than traditional exhibitions that represent architecture through models and drawings.
In an effort to encourage greater inclusivity and consultation around architecture, the exhibition will pose questions and offer ways forward to challenges such as: how to make better use of green spaces in urban environments; can we rethink how public land is allocated and used; and how can the local pub be repurposed to serve the wider community?
Kessler and Verghese are co-founders of multi-scalar design practice Unscene Architecture. Kessler is a director of Madeleine Kessler Architecture, and sits on the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group. She was named in the Architects’ Journal 40 under 40 and a 2019 RIBA Rising Star. Verghese is Head of Public Engagement at the Architectural Association. She is an architecture designer, curator and educator.
They have invited five additional teams of designers to collaborate with them on the British Council commission: The Decorators; Built Works; Studio Polpo; Public Works; and vPPR. Each room in the pavilion will critique how specific public spaces are currently designed and used. Themes explored include:
- Publicani (The Decorators) - could the pub be more than a place for drinking and become a versatile centre for civic action?
- Ministry of Collective Data (Built Works) - could we rethink facial recognition technology and free our collective data for public benefit?
- High Street of Exchanges (Studio Polpo) - could the high street go beyond commercial interests to become a place of diverse social exchange?
- Ministry of Common Land (Public Works) - could we use citizen’s assemblies to develop new strategies for land ownership and use?
- Play With(out) Grounds (vPPR) - can we design new spaces in the city for teenagers to occupy on their own terms?
- Garden of Delights (Unscene Architecture) - could we open up and reprogramme exclusive garden squares to create more public outdoor space?
Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler:
“We continue to work with an amazing team of design collaborators to explore different types of privatised public space in The Garden of Privatised Delights. By initiating conversations around how the private and public sectors can work together, we hope to prompt the public spaces that are missing in cities, and make them accessible to all. By expanding the definition of what privatised public space can be, as well as widening the debate around who can access, own, design and use these areas, our ambition remains to inspire more welcoming and beneficial public spaces for everyone to enjoy.”
The British Council has commissioned the British Pavilion exhibition at the Biennale Architettura since 1980 and at the Biennale Arte for more than 80 years. A panel of architecture and design specialists from across the UK commissioned Kessler and Verghese from a shortlist of nine proposals submitted to the British Council via an open-call process in 2019.
The British Pavilion exhibitions continue the wider work of the British Council to showcase the best of the UK's artists, architects, designers and curators overseas. The British Council has been commissioning the British Pavilion in Venice since 1937 and these exhibitions support the British Pavilion as a leading international platform to exchange innovation and ideas around contemporary art and architecture.
ENDS
The British Pavilion exhibitions are commissioned by the British Council; please ensure you credit the British Council in all editorial features
Full press pack, including images here: bit.ly/3cmnbio
For further information on the British Council commission for the British Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, please contact:
Hayley Willis, Senior Media Relations Manager | E: hayley.willis@britishcouncil.org | M: +44 (0)7542 268 184
Vicci Nelmes, Media Relations Officer | E: vicci.nelmes@britishcouncil.org | M: +44 (0)7933 386 075
Exhibition details
The British Pavilion exhibition at Biennale Architettura 2021 is managed by the British Council’s Architecture Design Fashion department.
Commissioner: Sevra Davis, Director Architecture Design Fashion at British Council
For latest news on the commission: https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/
Dates
The 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia opens to the public on Saturday 22nd May to Sunday 21st November 2021
Address: British Pavilion, Giardini di Castello 30122
Exhibition dates: 22 May – 21 Nov 2021
Opening times: 10am-6pm Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Mondays.
Vaporetto: Giardini
Catalogue: A catalogue will accompany the exhibition
Follow updates for the #BritishPavilion via: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Press Accreditation Information
Press accreditation is needed to access the official Pavilions of 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia ahead of the public opening. The accreditation for pre-opening closes on May 8th, 2021.
For more information on how to apply, please visit: https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2021/accreditation#press
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. Last year we reached over 80 million people directly and 791 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 15 per cent core funding grant from the UK government. www.britishcouncil.org
Curators
Manijeh Verghese is a co-founder of Unscene Architecture and the Head of Public Engagement at the Architectural Association (AA), where she is also a Unit Master of Diploma 12, a seminar leader for the AA Professional Practice for Fifth Year course, and a member of the Senior Management Team. Over the past nine years, she has led postgraduate and undergraduate design studios at both the AA and Oxford Brookes University and has taught workshops and courses across universities in the UK and abroad. Previously, she has worked for architecture practices including John Pawson and Foster + Partners, and has contributed to design publications, think-tanks, books and peer reviewed journals. She is currently an External Examiner at Cambridge University and on the curatorial panel for the 2021 London Festival of Architecture.
Madeleine Kessler is a co-founder of Unscene Architecture and director of Madeleine Kessler Architecture. Trained as an architect and structural engineer, she sits on the National Infrastructure Commission’s Design Group, and teaches at the London School of Architecture and Architectural Association. Previously, she worked on cultural and public realm projects at Haworth Tompkins, HHF Architekten, Studio Weave, and as an Associate at Haptic Architects. She has worked on projects including Battersea Arts Centre, Kings Cross W3, St James's Market Pavilion, and Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Oslo Architecture Triennale. In 2020 she was named in the Architects’ Journal 40 under 40, and she was awarded the 2019 RIBA Rising Star Award.
Room designers
Unscene Architecture was founded by Madeleine Kessler and Manijeh Verghese in 2019. It operates across disciplines and scales to reveal the unseen forces that shape our cities, working with local communities to give them greater agency over how they use and occupy their spaces. Providing a platform for design, research, curation, and realisation, it aims to provoke a wider conversation about the city through action rather than just words.
The Decorators is a collective of designers with backgrounds in landscape architecture, spatial design, curation and psychology. They curate interventions and actions to make communities and social networks visible. Putting conversation at the heart of their process, they examine the means by which they can maintain a critical and meaningful exchange between communities and the urban regeneration forces they are subjected to.
Built Works is a creative practice exploring the intersection between art and architecture. With a focus on emerging technologies and the impact of their use on citizens and the built environment, it constructs one-to-one working prototypes of concepts and systems in order to test ideas through physical experiment.
Studio Polpo is a social enterprise architecture collective based in Sheffield. Its work is undertaken through exchanges with others, including people from different and diverse disciplines and backgrounds, an approach that can lead to more critical, situated and responsive architecture. Collaborative practices allow the studio to address wider issues relating to spatial, social and ecological justice. It is connected to activist, community and cultural projects, and works with them to co-construct questions, themes, and sites for action.
Public Works is a not-for-profit critical design practice set up in 2004 to occupy the terrain in between architecture, art and performance. Together with an interdisciplinary network, the studio reworks the city’s opportunities towards citizen-driven development. It aims to create long-sustained relationships that build commonality and trust and enable co-authorship.
vPPR Architects was set up in 2009 by Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds. The studio believes in the continual crossover between art and architecture, seeking creative solutions that strengthen communities, no matter how large or small. The practice is working on public housing, cultural and mixed-use projects and has recently completed a multi-generational playscape in Higham Park in London.
Selection panel
The UK’s presentation at the 17th International Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is selected by an advisory panel of leading architecture professionals, from across the UK. The panel membership changes for every edition of the Biennale Architettura. The panel selecting the 2020 Pavilion exhibition was chaired by the Director of Architecture Design Fashion at the British Council, and included:
- Pooja Agrawal, Co-founder, Public Practice
- Eva Franch I Gilabert, Director, Architectural Association School of Architecture
- Gabrielle Jenks, Digital Director of Manchester International Festival
- Indy Johar, Co-founder, Architecture 00
- Alan Jones, RIBA President Elect 2019
- Jim MacDonald, CEO, Architecture & Design Scotland
- Farshid Moussavi, Founder, Farshid Moussavi Architecture
- Manon Mollard, Editor, Architectural Review
About Pavilion Patrons
The Pavilion Patrons scheme supports the preservation of the British Pavilion as a historic venue and the ambitions of artists and architects, demonstrating excellence in contemporary arts and architecture on a global stage.
Find out more about previous architecture exhibitions at the British Pavilion: venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/history and the work of the British Council’s Architecture Design Fashion team: design.britishcouncil.org/
Acknowledgements
The British Pavilion is made possible through the generosity of the following organisations whose financial and in-kind contributions support the curators’ vision:
Platinum Partner
Therme Art
Gold Partner
Arup
Silver Partners
Sto
Zumtobel
Bronze Partners
Buro Happold
Finsa
Fellowship Programme supported by
Foster + Partners
HTA Design LLP
With kind assistance from
Clayworks
Forbo Flooring Systems
K-array and 2B Heard Ltd
LED Linear™ GmbH
Light Forms Architectural Lighting
NERI, S.S.
Precision Lighting Ltd
Richter lighting technologies GmbH.
The White Wall Company
WISA Plywood