Australia’s answer to the London Serpentine Gallery Architectural Pavilion, the Fugitive Structures pavilion opened on Friday, March 22, 2013.
Crescent House designed by local architect Andrew Burns is the first constructed in the new annual series put together by BVN Donovan Hill and the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation (SCAF).
Located in the Sherman gallery courtyard in Paddington, Sydney, the exhibition will remain open to the public until 14 September.
Fugitive Structures is an annual invitation-only competition aimed at emerging and mid career architects who are asked to design a small-scale temporary pavilion in an urban setting.
The Fugitive Structures’ concept references London’s Serpentine Gallery’s highly successful Architectural Pavilion series where, to date, 13 sponsored projects have drawn millions of British and international visitors to Kensington Gardens in the Northern summer.
BVN Donovan Hill brought together a unique coalition of builders, engineers, urban planners and landscape designers who together worked pro-bono with SCAF and Andrew Burns to bring the project to fruition.
Talking about why architecture firm agreed to work pro-bono for Fugitive Structures, Bill Dowzer, State Director, said, “A primary thing for us as a practice is the stimulation of debate and discussion around architecture in the lay community.”
He noted the importance of promotion of architecture in the mainstream community.
“When working on a school we engage the students with the process, not to make them architects, but to give them the experience to gain a greater understanding of what the opportunity is for buildings and space.”
Supporting an endeavour like Fugitive Structures fits these aims perfectly. “It also introduces an element of cross cultural activity, the experience of Gene Sherman in staging and promoting art exhibitions seemed an ideal fit with our expertise in delivering complex building projects,” Dowzer said.
Dr Gene Sherman AM, Executive Director of SCAF said: “Fugitive Structures refers to a new creative endeavour fashioned around the work of architects from Australia, the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East and will deliver an original, modestly scaled and compelling space in the centre of our busy city.”
Andrew Burns describes the structure on his website:
"Two arcs are set within an apparently simple rectilinear form. The arcs bisect, creating a pair of infinitely sharp points and a threshold to the space beyond. This combination of fragility and robustness seeks to charge the conversations within the space with a particular quality.
"The structure has an ambiguous presence; between architecture and art object. Through framing, it transforms an ordinary rose apple hedge into a landscape of beauty. The pavilion responds to elemental themes; darkness and light, the wonder offered by the night sky and the burnt quality of yaki-sugi (charred cedar) recalling the presence of bushfires on this continent.
A number of images can be viewed on Andrew Burns Architect website.
