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Building conscience.

Bewusst with bauen.

01/2021

Change needs courage.

And a few smart minds.

01/2021

The StoJournal for Architects

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05Studio, bergamini partner, Fischer Ziebold, Kengo Kuma, Patriarche, Praksis Arkitekter, Störmer Murphy, Van Ringen, Vlaminck van Wetter

05Studio, bergamini partner architekten, Fischer Ziebold Architekten, Kengo Kuma and Associates, Patriarche, Praksis Arkitekter, Störmer Murphy and Partners, Van Ringen Architecten, Vlaminck van Wetter architecten

Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, the curators of the British Pavilion designed their “The Garden of Privatised Delights” exhibit.

Photo: Unscene Architecture

Interview with the curators of the British Pavilion

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler (Unscene Architecture, London/UK) have curated the British Pavilion as part of the current Architecture Biennale in Venice. They talked to Amy Croft, the curator of Sto Werkstatt, about how some of the most quintessentially British spaces – the garden square, the pub and the high street – offer sites for disrupting the status quo of privatised public space. The exhibition “The Garden of Privatised Delights” was commissioned by the British Council for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice (22 May to 21 November 2021).

Let’s begin with your title “The Garden of Privatised Delights”, and your choice to collaborate with several designers on the spaces, what inspired this approach?

The title of the exhibit was inspired by “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch – a painting with the format of a triptych that shows the utopia of the Garden of Eden, the dystopia of Hell and the garden of earthly delights in the middle. We have used a similar structure in order to make the rich central area of privatised public spaces visible as an opportunity for architectural intervention. It is located between the two extremes of the utopia of public land and the dystopia of total privatisation. We felt that the triptych would allow us to disrupt the all-too binary perception of privatised public spaces. Instead, we wanted to design new, hybrid models for privatised public spaces in order to foster freely accessible ownership, access and utilisation.

Instead of illustrating architecture by using images, models and drawings, we have created a series of immersive rooms that

visitors can experience and engage with. We didn‘t want to tell people how to design public spaces. Instead, we wanted the exhibit to raise questions. We wanted to learn from observing how people interact with the installations and how they use the different rooms.

We wanted to rethink different types of spaces in a typical British town or city. Therefore we have selected four types of spaces that are either limited in how the public can access them, such as the garden square and spaces for teenagers, following the widespread closure of youth centres, as well as those under threat, such as the High Street and the Pub. We see the pavilion as a forum to bring people together to engage with this important topic and collectively contribute to the conversation on what privatised public spaces should be.

Each room was designed by a different design studio: The Decorators, Built Works, Studio Polpo, Public Works, vPPR Architects and one room by our own studio Unscene Architecture. We have

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selected designers that are currently working with these subjects so that the pavilion can unite the different types of research regarding privatised public spaces.

As architects, we are in a unique position to moderate the debate between land owners and the public at large and to develop public/private partnerships that benefit local communities. Our involvement in this debate across all levels – from the political level all the way to detailed designs and upkeep – has helped us to rethink what public spaces can be and to find ways to open them up so that everybody can enjoy them.

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a vigorous debate on outdoor public spaces. How did this development impact your Biennale project?

Many existing inequalities in our cities were laid bare by the pandemic – especially access to public outdoor spaces as well as the ways in which these places affect our physical and mental health.

Social distancing and lockdowns posed an additional burden on businesses and public installations and raised questions about the future of places that were already struggling to survive. The entire situation has also blurred the lines between private and public by sharing intimate, private spaces on digital platforms, such as Zoom. That makes the ownership and management of data and privacy even more important.

Our hope is to raise awareness of privatised public space and its huge potential to offer diverse uses and to be opened up, both in the UK and globally. “The Garden of Privatised Delights” deals with new models of public/private partnerships and how we can rethink the status quo – facts that have become more urgent due to the ongoing global pandemic and their impact on access to public spaces. Ultimately, we would like to empower the public to use their spaces differently and ask better questions about who owns them, and how they can access and use them. ______________________________________________________

The pandemic has emphasised the huge need and appetite for civic public space, witnessed through the use of parks and commons during the different national lockdowns. That is why we believe that the topics we are examining in the pavilion have become even more important. At the same time, the need for architects to work with the public and private sectors, as well as local communities, in order to reinterpret the design and use of privatised public spaces has been highlighted.

Sto are proud sponsors of the British Pavilion exhibition, commissioned by the British Council at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice (22 May to 21 November 2021).

We believe that the visitors of the exhibit will make their own contributions to the urgent debate on how this project will affect people and society as a whole. The pavilion can advance the debate on how these public spaces can continue to develop and adapt to a changing reality. The goal is to question our understanding of private and public spaces, to redefine and transform them.

Sign up for our mailing list and to be the first to get news and find out about events: werkstatt.sto.com/optin. Subscribe to the YouTube channel of the Sto Werkstatt, to listen to the first panel discussion, which was recorded in May 2020 together with The British Council and is entitled: “Im|materiality in The Garden of Privatised Delights”.

What is the role of architects when it comes to rethinking privatised public spaces and what can this exhibit do to contribute?

There are always debates about privatised public spaces but these are often held in silos. Design can play a major role in how spaces are used and perceived, but there are also other elements which influence that, such as ownership, upkeep and legislation. We are bringing these different stakeholders together with the public in order to think about what privatised public spaces can be. Our aim is to empower the public to take ownership of their spaces by giving them access to the tools, skills and resources to occupy, use and maintain their public space.

Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler of Unscene Architecture Photo: Cristiano Corte

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