IF_DO’s design for Dulwich Pavilion nominated for AJ Architecture Award
Update 20 October: we are delighted to announce that IF_DO have been awarded Best Small Project for the Dulwich Pavilion at the Blueprint Awards, an annual celebration of the very best in architecture and design.
IF_DO’s design for the first Dulwich Pavilion has been shortlisted in the inaugural AJ Architecture Awards, which showcases the very best built projects in the UK. The pavilion’s ambitious design, which includes moveable, mirrored panels and a wide-spanning timber roof, was selected by a judging panel for the ‘Budget Project of the Year’ category.
IF_DO, an emerging architecture practice based in Bermondsey, London, responded to a brief that called for a temporary public structure, which would engage with the adjacent buildings and landscape whilst also providing much-needed space for the Gallery to host events, community activities and attract new audiences to its historic site and collection
Their winning design, ‘After Image’ responded to the solidity and monolithic nature of Sir John Soane’s Gallery building, and the ever-changing nature of the landscape. The pavilion was built in the Gallery’s grounds in spring this year using a modest construction budget of just over £100,000.
Al Scott, Director at IF_DO, said:
“The Pavilion competition presented us with the opportunity to create a high-profile, unique public structure in an exceptional setting, and with the support of renowned clients: Dulwich Picture Gallery and the London Festival of Architecture. Completed in a short time-frame, the finished pavilion has achieved more than we had imagined —both architecturally, and in terms of the impact it has had on our young practice.”
The Pavilion opened in June and has been open throughout the summer for the public to explore. It has hosted a series of free summer Lates, community and learning events, not to mention providing a unique stage for Florence and the Machine, who performed at the Gallery’s inaugural summer party. Overall it has welcomed over 76,000 visitors across daytime opening hours, to free access Lates and a wealth of community and schools visits and events.
The AJ Architecture Awards will be judged by a panel of experts, including Eva Jirinca, Crispin Kelly and Mary Duggan. The winners will be revealed on 7 December.
The Dulwich Pavilion is a partnership between the Gallery, the London Festival of Architecture, and property development company Almacantar, with support from Arts Council England and in-kind support from Structure Mode.
The Dulwich Pavilion is free to access during normal Gallery opening hours until 8 October.