A Gathering Space

The Lighthouse debate: Architecture Beyond Building

With the support of the Scottish Government, The Lighthouse presented A Gathering Space at La Biennale di Venezia, 11th International Architecture Exhibition.

One of the only temporary structures to be created specially for the Biennale, A Gathering Space was located in Piazzale della Stazione Santa Lucia, Venice outside the main railway station and close by the Calatrava bridge. The 7m-high wooden structure, created from sustainable materials, including Scotlarch®, showcaseed Scottish design and construction. It inviteed visitors to sit, pause and contemplate, and from the top offers a whole new perspective on the city. A Gathering Space was the focus of a number of debates and an evening event celebrating Scotland and Venice with djs and live music from bands Isosceles and Wilson Tan.

Following an open, anonymous competition to design a landmark installation for the Scottish presence at the Biennale, leading practice Gareth Hoskins Architects, designed an imposing and expressive structure, which occupied the Piazzale. It took the form of a flight of stairs that rose above the height of the canopy of the adjacent railway station and sat within the long tradition of public stairs as seating - notable precedents include the Spanish Steps and the entrance stairs to the Metropolitan Museum, New York. “Venice is a city of bridges and steps” Gareth Hoskins “As with many cities around the world these form places within the urban environment where people often pause, to rest, to meet or to simply watch the daily hustle and bustle of city life. This structure forms an intriguing new sculptural incident within Venice that creates both a formal place for events and an informal place where people can gather and observe the City from a new perspective”. Gareth Hoskins Architects’ design was realised for The Lighthouse by Avonhill Timber Frame Limited.

During the opening days of the Biennale A Gathering Space formed the focus of series of debates and presentations that tied together current trends in place making and regionalism in architecture, and looked at the tangible differences architecture makes to our lives. Also unveiled were newly created visualisations of Venice created by the Digital Design Studio of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, one of their the ground-breaking 3-D city models, A Gathering Space then remained in situ as ‘a gathering space’ for the public until the 12 Oct 08.

“For the Scottish presence this year we decided to take a novel approach in line with the theme of the Biennale - Architecture Beyond Building,” Nick Barley, Director of The Lighthouse. “A Gathering Space, aims to harness the buzz of and boundless energy of the Biennale with a lively programme of events bringing together Scottish and international voices to stimulate debate, exchange ideas and address some of the key architectural issues facing the world today.”

"I am delighted the Scottish Government has been able to support the design competition and construction of A Gathering Space, guaranteeing a strong Scottish presence at the Venice Biennale on Architecture." Linda Fabiani, MSP Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture. "Gareth Hoskins Architects’ design cerates a focal point and an inspiration for those exploring the art of architecture - putting Scotland at the heart of the Biennale."

A Gathering Space was also the venue for the launch of The Lighthouse Architecture Series of monographs, which over the next five years will look at practices emerging on the international stage. The first in the series, with contributions from Hugh Pearman, Andy Macmillan, Greg Penoyre and Deyan Sudjic, amongst others, looks at Gareth Hoskins Architects as the practice marks its 10th anniversary. An associated exhibition runs in Glasgow until early November 2008 and will be shown at RIBA in London in Feb 09.

Map of Biennale Locations


View Larger Map


The realisation of A Gathering Space has been significantly supported by:

Kindly sponsored by John C Bute

http://www.thelighthouse.co.uk/content/scotlandandvenice08/100/

Find out more about: ACCESS to Architecture

Share