13th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale

29 Aug 2012

Today marks the opening day of “Common Ground,” the 13th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, on view through 25 November 2012.

Directed by London-based architect, Sir David Alan Chipperfield, “Common Ground” consists of a single exhibition staged throughout the Central Pavilion at the Giardini and the Arsenale, and comprises of over 69 projects by architects, photographers, artists, critics and scholars.

In this year’s exhibition, Eric Parry Architects is featuring artists’ projects by Richard Deacon and Shirazeh Houshiary:

We explore the radical potential of the collaboration between artist and architect in two recent projects in the City of Westminster, London.

At St James’s Gateway on Piccadilly, we are collaborating with sculptor Richard Deacon, who has created a cornice integrated into the new facade. Formed of 39 individual coloured ceramic elements, the 25m (92 ft) artwork echoes the exuberance and activity of nearby Piccadilly Circus and is represented at the Biennale with two full-scale sections and a model of part of the building elevation at a scale of 1:3 [illustrated in the above image to the right].

We also present our work at St Martin-in-the Fields, one of the most complex developments of its kind undertaken in London in many years, and in particular our collaboration with the artist Shirazeh Houshiary on the remarkable new east window, a central element of the practice’s refurbishment of the historic church and one which creates a strong visual presence both inside and outside.

– Eric Parry (via www.architectsjournal.co.uk)

Though the Shirazeh Houshiary east window at St. Martin in the Fields has been fully realized, the Richard Deacon cornice facade for St. James’s Gateway is projected to be finished in 2013. In the meantime, here are a few progress shots of the individual moldings in their initial phase: