British Pavilion team for Venice Biennale announced

The British Council has announced the team of architects it has chosen to represent the UK at next year’s Venice Biennale.

Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay and Sumitra Upham make up the winning team, which will create an exhibition exploring sustainable materials.

The British Council said the curators will transform the British Pavilion into “celebratory spaces” which will reveal how a greener future can be fostered for UK architecture by using principles of “care and equity over extraction and exploitation”.

Jayden Ali is the founding director of interdisciplinary practice JA Projects and a Senior Lecturer at Central Saint Martins.

Joseph Henry is a designer and urbanist, co-founder of platform Sound Advice and works as part of the culture and creative industries team at the Greater London Authority.

Meneesha Kellay是V&A博物馆的当代项目策展人，Sumitra Upham是策展人和作家，目前是工艺委员会公共项目的负责人。2022年北京世界杯

The four said in a joint statement: “Our exhibition will explore architecture of the diaspora through a pre-colonial lens, celebrating the spectrum of architectural philosophies, making practices and material knowledge within those communities.

“Foregrounding their currency at a time of growing social polarisation and ecological degradation, we intend to amplify voices and perspectives that have been previously overlooked in British architecture. Our pavilion will readdress the architectural canon through a joyful celebration of pluralism.”

The British Council has been commissioning the British Pavilion for the biennial festival in Venice since 1937.

英国文化协会建筑、设计和时尚总监Sevra Davis说，该协会的公开呼吁是“期待直接解决当今社会面临的紧迫挑战的建议，这将展示建筑如何主动应对”。

她补充说:“该委员会将展示我们如何通过去殖民主义的视角重新思考我们的建筑环境和建筑规范，并从散散侨民社区和文化中学习，以创建一个更公平、可持续、更健康和快乐的未来。”

Last year the British Pavilion was relaunched 10 months after the event was postponed twice due to covid-19.

Manijeh Verghese and Madeleine Kessler were announced as winners in April 2019 with their proposal, The Garden of Privatised Delights.

The exhibition featured a series of six immersive spaces, each offering an interactive experience of architecture, rather than the models and drawings of traditional architecture exhibitions.