Red Pavilion. London
London Festival of Architecture 2015
New Horizon draws its inspiration from important thresholds in the history of contemporary Irish architecture. In 1991 eight practices working collaboratively as Group 91 won the master plan competition for Temple Bar in Dublin City Centre; born in the 1950s, several of these architects have gone on to significant international careers. Between Ireland’s initial Venice Pavilion in 2000 and the most recent in 2014, key architects of the generation born in the 1960s have represented Ireland with flair at the prestigious Venice Biennale International Exhibition of Architecture. The architects participating in New Horizon belong to the next generation. Born after the 1970s and educated on the cusp of the new millennium, they commenced practice as Europe’s economy encountered formidable challenges. These new practices have not only weathered that storm, they exhibit resourcefulness and optimism in their profession. Each has found a way to practice critically, to look at what exists in nature and the built environment, to discover potential in previously overlooked situations, to collaborate across disciplines and evolve new modes of practice for the 21st century. The scope of this work is both Irish and conscious of global design culture. It looks to a better future.
