British Council – British Pavilion in Venice

To bring the Venice Biennale of Architecture in line with the Venice Biennale of Art, the British Council decided to select just one practice to be represented within the Pavilion.

From an impressive shortlist of Britian's five leading young architectural practices (Alison Brooks Architects, Adjaye Associates, de Rijke Marsh Morgan, East and foreign office architects), foreign office architects were chosen to present a site-specific installation in the British pavilion. The theme of this year's international exhibition was Next, curated by Dejan Sudjic, British architecture critic and editor. Sudjic invited particpants to showcase 'key international projects that will be taking shape in the next five years'.

foreign office architects

Led by Fashid Moussavi and Alejandro Zaera Polo, foreign office architects (foa) is an international practice of architecture and urban design, dedicated to the exploration of contemporary urban conditions, lifestyles and construction technologies.

foa's emerging body of work ranges from large-scale urban proposals and transportation projects to commercial and interior projects built in America, Europe and Asia both for public and private clients.

The Yokohama International Port Terminal in Japan was the subject of the exhibition in the British pavilion. The Terminal was completed this year to coincide with the World Cup, hosted by Japan. foa won the commission to build it in 1995 - only two years after setting up the practice - as a result of an international competition which invited more than 600 entries.

foa transformed the British pavilion into a dark labyrinthine space in which the visitor moved through a sequence of rooms, each dedicated to a different aspect of the project: Landscape; Borderlessness; Growth; Complexity; Tools & Technology. In the heart of the exhibition was a room with images revealing the Yokohama Terminal itself. Using state-of-the-art projectors provided by leading communications providers NEC UK, foa created a spectacular virtual and immersive space.

www.f-o-a.net
www.adjaye.com
www.fosterandpartners.com
www.dixonjones.co.uk
www.alsoparchitects.com
www.yorkshire-forward.com
www.richardrogers.co.uk

Commissioners: Andrea Rose and Emily Campbell (British Council). Curator: Ruth Ur (British Council)