‘The Colour Palace’: Pricegore and Yinka Ilori chosen for second Dulwich Pavilion

‘The Colour Palace’ – a lively and celebratory fusion of European and African cultural traditions by Pricegore and Yinka Ilori – has been chosen as the second Dulwich Pavilion for summer 2019. The temporary outdoor structure will open at Dulwich Picture Gallery during the London Festival of Architecture in June 2019. This winning entry has been selected through a design competition co-hosted by the Festival and the Gallery.

Pricegore and Yinka Ilori’s ‘Colour Palace’ is intended as a celebration of colour, pattern and light, and draws upon both European and African cultural traditions in creating a design that could be relevant to, and representative of, multicultural London. Dutch wax prints on display in a Lagos market, and mirrored in London’s ‘Little Lagos’ in nearby Peckham, inspired the bold geometric pattern of the pavilion, which will create a powerful contrast alongside the more sedate and Grade II* listed gallery building, designed by Sir John Soane. Each side of the timber louvres forming the façade is painted a different colour, which in turn creates shifting layers of pattern when viewed from different perspectives around the pavilion.

Pricegore are an emerging architecture practice led by Dingle Price and Alex Gore, and are based close to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in Peckham, south east London. Yinka Ilori is a London-based artist of Nigerian heritage, who specialises in creating furniture and other pieces that blend Nigerian traditions with contemporary design. The partnership overcame fierce competition from a field of 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). Members of the public visiting the gallery in June 2018 were also given the opportunity to have their say on the shortlisted designs.

The pavilion will act as an outdoor welcome and orientation space for visitors to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, as well as a flexible public space that can be used for performances, talks and other events. The pavilion’s lightweight timber frame structure is mounted on monumental feet (formed from precast concrete drainage channels) to maintain panoramic views of Sir John Soane’s Dulwich Picture Gallery and its gardens, and also contains a gantry around its internal perimeter that acts as a viewpoint for performances or other events within.

It is hoped that the pavilion will have a future life after its time at the Gallery. Thanks to its modular design, it will be possible to reconfigure the parts to create a shelter of different proportions or multiple structures of smaller scale.

The project builds on the success of the first ever Dulwich Pavilion in 2017 – After Image by IF_DO – which was one of the highlights of that year’s London Festival of Architecture and the Gallery’s bicentenary year. As well as helping the Gallery to overcome space constraints, attract new audiences and broaden its appeal to a wider demographic, the pavilion achieved critical acclaim and won multiple awards. The project was also transformational IF_DO: their first competition win resulted in global exposure, leading to a series of exciting new commissions that have enabled the practice to triple in size.

Dingle Price said:

‘We are thrilled to win the competition. Despite its temporary nature, it is a fantastic opportunity for us to design a prominent and celebratory civic building that will enrich the cultural offer of the Dulwich Picture Gallery and compliment Soane’s masterpiece.’

Tamsie Thomson, director of the London Festival of Architecture, said:

‘At the London Festival of Architecture we revel in the unexpected, and I can’t wait to start working with Pricegore and Yinka Ilori to bring a little bit of Lagos to Dulwich. Their design for the second Dulwich Pavilion really wowed the judges, and I’m sure the Colour Palace will be one of 2019’s cultural highlights.’

Jennifer Scott, the Sackler Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, said:

‘This innovative, colourful space will act as a beacon of creativity and inclusion for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. On behalf of the judging panel (which included illustrious architecture specialists and our youth volunteer judge) I want to congratulate and thank all six of the shortlisted architecture practices for conceiving designs of the highest quality. We’re also hugely grateful to the public for joining in the vote and for supporting us as we showcase emerging talent within the extraordinary setting of the world’s first purpose-built art gallery.”