The Australia Council of the Arts has announced that Denton Corker Marshall will design the new Australian pavilion for the Venice Biennale.

DCM’s credits include the Melbourne Museum, Museum of Sydney, Australian Embassies in Tokyo and Beijing, and the Stonehenge Visitor Centre in the UK.

The firm was unanimously selected from a shortlist of 6 Australian firms, with James Strong AO, Chair of the Australia Council, praising DCM for their “creative vision” and potential for “a truly exemplary building all Australians will be proud of.”

DCM’s design for the new pavilion seeks to “make a form of the utmost simplicity; a white box contained within a black box,” as stated in the submission.

“The pavilion is envisaged as an object rather than a building; a presence that is simultaneously powerful and discreet within the heavily wooded gardens.”

“Venice holds a special place in the arts and architecture worlds so it’s very exciting for us to win this project,” John Denton of DCM said today.

“I believe it will be a building that will proudly represent Australia and be recognised as a powerful, confident addition to the pavilions in the Giardini.”

Australia’s current pavilion has been on location since 1988. The Philip Cox-designed structure was initially meant to be temporary.

The new pavilion is due for completion in 2015, in time for the opening of the 56th International Art Exhibition.

See a fly-through of the new Australian Pavilion here.

Denton Corker Marshall
dentoncorkermarshall.com