DCM wins Venice pavilion competition

Denton Corker Marshall has won an international design competition to design the new Australian pavilion in Venice’s Giardini della Biennale. The new pavilion will be the first of the twenty-first century contributions to the Giardini, which is undergoing revitalization by the Venice Biennale. It will replace Australia’s current pavilion, designed by Philip Cox in 1988 as a temporary structure.

Organized by the Australia Council for the Arts, the competition received sixty-seven entries, with six firms – Denton Corker Marshall, Sean Godsell Architects, John Wardle Architects, Bud Brannigan Architects, Peter Stutchbury Architecture and Johnson Pilton Walter – selected to progress to stage two of the competition. The selection panel was unanimous in its selection of Denton Corker Marshall’s design. “Denton Corker Marshall was considered the outstanding choice to undertake this significant project,” said the chair of the Australia Council, James Strong. “We are inspired by their creative vision, confident in their ability and excited by the potential for a truly exemplary building all Australians will be proud of.”

Denton Corker Marshall's proposal.

Denton Corker Marshall’s proposal.

Image: Denton Corker Marshall

Denton Corker Marshall’s concept for the pavilion is simple. As stated in their submission, the design is “to make a form of the utmost simplicity – a white box contained within a black box. The pavilion is envisaged as an object rather than a building; a presence that is simultaneously powerful and discreet within the heavily wooded gardens.” The two-level pavilion will provide a flexible and adaptable exhibition space to showcase Australian visual arts and architecture within a footprint of approximately 320 square metres. The architects avoided imposing a mannered architectural “event” on the artworks displayed within, instead creating a container on and in which ideas can be explored, where the container in no way competes with those ideas. Director John Denton says that design continues the firm’s interest in the small-scale architecture of its series of country houses, such as the View Hill and Phillip Island houses, which were developed around themes of European intervention in the Australian landscape and architecture as land art.

It is proposed that the matt charcoal finish of the exterior will be of South Australian black granite. The interior gallery walls are standard white, and the floor is polished concrete. It is free from affectation and obvious nationalistic statement.

Denton Corker Marshall’s experience with similar cultural projects and in delivering projects offshore is extensive. The Melbourne Museum, ANZAC Hall – Australian War Memorial, Stonehenge Visitor Centre, Manchester Civil Justice Centre and Australian Embassies in Tokyo, Beijing and Jakarta are among projects of international significance produced by the practice.

The pavilion is expected to be completed in time for the 2015 Venice Art Biennale.

You can read the official announcement on the Australia Council website.

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