London-based practice Pricegore and London-based artist of Nigerian heritage Yinka Ilori have completed The Colour Palace designed as the second edition of the Dulwich Pavilion at Dulwich Picture Gallery. 

Opened in June 12, the 10-metre high cubic installation will be on view until September 22, 2019 as part of the London Festival of Architecture which runs from 1 June to 30 June 2019 with a lively and diverse programme of public events across London exploring the theme of "Boundaries".

Reflecting a fusion of West African and European influences, the Pavilion is inspired by the buzz of fabric markets in Lagos, and the symmetry, curves and right angles of Sir John Soane's iconic Gallery design.  

The cubic structure features a bold geometric pattern, standing on four huge red cylinders. At its core is an atrium, creating an arena where visitors can view the structure from many different perspectives, including from an interior raised viewing platform.

The installation is realized with a partnership of the London Festival of Architecture and Dulwich Picture Gallery. The Colour Palace serves as a temporary outdoor structure for summer 2019, gracing the lawns outside Sir John Soane’s iconic gallery.

The Pavilion draws on many shared traditions of geometry and pattern in architecture, and the common solution of raising storage buildings on straddle stones.

Raised on monumental feet, the lightweight pavilion is assembled from thousands of individual pieces of hand painted timber. The combination of these elements creates layered facades of bold geometric pattern that shift and merge according to viewpoint recalling the fabric markets of Lagos, Nigeria.

"The brief for the Dulwich Pavilion demanded a celebratory response to John Soane’s outstanding historic architecture, and having Yinka as part of the Colour Palace design team has really helped us to achieve that," said Dingle Price and Alex Gore, co-founders of Pricegore.

"The Colour Palace has been a wonderful opportuinity for us to design our first prominent civic building: alongside several exciting housing projects we hope it will lead to further civic and cultural projects and the chance to work with great clients like the Dulwich Picture Gallery," they added.

Internally, the Pavilion resembles a small theatre-in-the-round, and visitors can climb to a perimeter gantry held within the depth of the slender structure. The squat volume of the Pavilion is informed by the cubic composition of Soane’s Grade II* listed Dulwich Picture Gallery, next to which it sits in close proximity.

"The beauty of the Pavilion’s desigin is that it stands bold and proud surrounded by the history of Sir John Soane’s iconic building, celebrating history and culture," said Yinka Ilori. 

"Its patterns and shapes calmly welcome you from a distance until you get closer and closer, and you’re blown away with an explosion of colour that immediately demands your attention."

"I’m so excited to see how people react to The Colour Palace and how it will bring people from different cultures and communites together. I’m hoping to see people arrive and leave with a smile on their faces – what could be better for the summer!," added Ilori.

Dulwich Pavilion can be visited until September 22, 2019 outside Sir John Soane’s iconic gallery. It's free and open to all this summer, The Colour Palace will bring our grounds to technicolour life.  

Pricegore & Yinka Ilori's winning entry was selected through a design competition co-hosted by the London Festival of Architecture and the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2018. 

The proposal was selected from 150 entries to win the competition, which was judged by a panel of leading architectural and cultural figures including Tom Dyckhoff (writer and broadcaster), Mary Duggan (founder, Mary Duggan Architects) and Oliver Wainwright (architecture correspondent, The Guardian). 

All images © Adam Scott 

All drawings © Pricegore & Yinka Ilori

> via Dulwich Picture Gallery