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19 Jan 2009
Scotlands Pavilion to be designed in India
Graeme Massie resigns from designing Kolkata Book Fair Pavilion for Scotland.
Competition organisers, like the British Council, should do their utmost
to ensure the winner's design is realised. Time and again architects'
work is wasted because those in power fail to respect them as professionals,
and almost always the end result suffers.
This temporary pavilion will host the Scottish presence at the Kolkata
Book Fair so it is entirely logical it is designed in Scotland. The British
Council Scotland should be encouraging scottish designers, especially
given the depths of the recession which is particularly hitting architects.
As the project developed and local executive architects were appointed,
significant changes to the original design were proposed and these were
deemed unacceptable to Graeme Massie Architects leading to their resignation
from the project.
British Council Scotland Press Release:
Scotland’s Pavilion at the Kolkata Book Fair in January 2009
Edinburgh 19 Jan. British Council Scotland regrets to announce that the
temporary pavilion which will host the Scottish presence at the Kolkata
Book Fair is now to be designed in India.
Edinburgh-based practice Graeme Massie Architects originally won an open
design competition held by the British Council, in association with The
Lighthouse. As the project developed and locally based executive architects
were appointed, significant changes to the original design were proposed
which were unacceptable to Graeme Massie Architects, leading to their
resignation from the project. British Council Scotland regrets this profoundly.
Roy Cross, Director British Council Scotland said: “We are extremely grateful
to Graeme Massie for his innovative and striking design, which we saw
as a fine example of contemporary Scottish architecture. We are very sorry
that circumstances have prevented the realisation of his building on this
occasion but feel confident that Scotland’s central role at the Kolkata
Book Fair will be a success.”
Graeme Massie Architects said: “We are naturally disappointed to no longer
be involved with the project, and that there will no longer be a Scottish
design presence at the Book Fair, however we wish the British Council
well with their ambitious Scotland-Kolkata Connections programme.”
Scotland will now be presented in a locally designed and built pavilion
at the heart of the Kolkata Book Fair which is expected to be visited
by 50,000 people per day. The pavilion will showcase a series of presentations
from Scottish institutions including the Scotland Kolkata Connections
exhibition curated by Henri Lidchi of National Museums Scotland and host
discussions and film screenings throughout the two-week long book fair.
Scotland’s participation in the Kolkata Book Fair marks the beginning
of a year-long programme of events and exchanges exploring the connections
between Scotland and India to be delivered in association with over 50
Scottish institutions including, Museums Galleries Scotland, National
Museums Scotland, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, National Library of
Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland and Education UK Scotland.
Pavilion for Scotland at the Kolkata Book Fair 2009
Open Design Competition – 1st Prize : Graeme Massie Architects
23 Oct 2008
Edinburgh-based practice, Graeme Massie Architects, are delighted to have
been confirmed as first prize winners in the open competition, organised
by the Lighthouse on behalf of the British Council, for the design of
a pavilion to represent Scotland at the Kolkata Book Fair 2009.
The Kolkata Book Fair is a unique public event that attracts over two
million visitors each year, making it the most visited book fair in the
world. Each year the fair nominates a Theme Country, and Scotland will
receive this honour in 2009 reflecting its international literary standing.
As a result the pavilion will be the largest and most central at the Book
Fair. Building on the opportunity of heightened interest in Scotland as
a result of the Book Fair, the British Council will subsequently create
a year-long programme of educational and cultural activity and exchange
between Scotland and Kolkata under the title ‘Scotland and Kolkata Connections
2009’.

The competition-winning proposal aims to produce a pavilion whose character
responds to local construction and manufacturing traditions in a meaningful
and contemporary way. The design combines the development of a tectonic
language from modern timber construction methods with an exploration of
jute textiles – a material common to India and Scotland – as a means of
defining spaces. Externally the exposed structure creates an ordered rhythm
to the facades, giving the pavilion a calm and still presence within the
Book Fair, while internally the combination of exposed timber and filtered
light creates an adaptable series of rich contemplative spaces. The pavilion
is intended to provide an exemplary sustainable solution, and can be relocated
elsewhere at the conclusion of the year, or fully recycled.
Graeme Massie Architects are currently working with the British Council
to develop the design, with the pavilion due to open on 28th January 2009,
the first day of the Book Fair.
Graeme Massie
Architects
Timber construction has exercised a profound influence upon the traditional
architecture of India. For over five hundred years wood was the material
of choice for new buildings, leading to the development of an architectural
language that was later translated to, and imitated in, stone construction.
The pavilion for Scotland at the Kolkata Book Fair 2009 combines the development
of a tectonic language from contemporary timber construction methods with
an exploration of jute textiles - a material important to the industrialisation
of Kolkata and parts of Scotland alike - as a means of defining space.

In doing so we aim to produce a pavilion whose character responds to local
construction and manufacturing traditions in a meaningful and contemporary
way. Externally the exposed structure creates an ordered rhythm to the
facades, giving the pavilion a calm and still presence within the Book
Fair, while internally the combination of exposed timber and filtered
light creates an adaptable series of rich contemplative spaces.
The pavilion is to be fully flexible and adaptable; able to accommodate
all functions required by the British Council during the Kolkata Book
Fair. A generous entranceway leads into an open plan space that runs the
extent of the pavilion, with the design eschewing solid low level internal
walls in favour of varying ceiling heights to define ‘rooms’. The main
Book Fair activities will take place within triple height ‘rooms’; secondary
spaces and circulation mediate between these main spaces allowing a degree
of acoustic and visual separation while enhancing the range of spatial
experiences and possibilities. The main ‘rooms’ can be screened off when
desired through the use of jute curtains; the effect of this arrangement
is that day-to-day the character of the pavilion appreciably changes as
curtains are closed/opened, creating a changing sense of space and intimacy
within the building.
The pavilion is to be constructed using simple timber frame technology
either left open, diagonally braced, or with one face lined with fire-retardant
plywood. The technology is such that all components can be manually handled
and constructed by workers with only basic joinery skills; alternatively
panels could be prefabricated to reduce the on-site build period. The
lightweight structure will bear onto double 200 x 50mm sole plates to
spread the load evenly around the structure’s perimeter, thereby minimising
the impact on the existing ground surface. Solid timber doors allow the
building to be made secure when not in use. In seeking an exemplary sustainable
solution all timber products will be FSC certified. Additionally, the
structure could be relocated elsewhere after the event, or recycled.
At night the pavilion will act as a ‘lantern’ giving the pavilion an intriguing
presence by both day and night.
Kolkata Book Fair 2009 Pavilion for Scotland at the Competition images
/ information from Graeme Massie Architects 231008
Kolkata Convention Centre
: RMJM Hillier

Kolkata Airport : RMJM Hillier

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Comments / photos for the Kolkata Book Fair 2009 Pavilion page welcome:
info@e-architect.co.uk
Kolkata Book Fair buildings - page : adrian
welch / isabelle lomholt
Website: www.britishcouncil.org/scotland-kolkata-connections-scottish-pavilion-competition.htm
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