[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and gallery [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] have announced the shortlisted projects in a competition to design a pavilion at the gallery in Woking, UK.

The shortlisted projects will be on show alongside other entries at
The Lightbox from 31 March until 12 April. Above: IN & EDIT
Architecture.

The winning design will be announced on 6 April and constructed for
exhibition at Tent London during the London Design Festival in
September, before moving to the gallery. Above and below: Karim Muallem.

More details on the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Here’s some more information from Tent London:
–
Announcement of the Shortlisted
Tent London and The Lightbox are delighted to announce the shortlist for The Art Fund Pavilion architecture competition.

The competition received an overwhelming level of interest with over
600 entries from 52 countries, including Columbia, Georgia and Iran.
Above and below: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Applicants were asked to design a semi-permanent pavilion, which
will serve as additional gallery space for The Lightbox. The museum and
gallery, which is already housed in a RIBA Award-winning building by
Marks Barfield Architects, have decided to mark their award of the
£100,000 Art Fund Prize by investing in architecture again by
initiating and financing this competition.

The entries were reviewed by an elite panel of judges that included
the Director of The Architecture Foundation, Sarah Ichioka and the
Turner-Prize nominated artist, Richard Wilson. Above and below: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with Martin Stockley Associates

The Shortlisted Entries are as follows:

• AREA [Architecture Research Athens], Greece
  
• Feix & Merlin Architects with Martin Stockley Associates, UK, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
  
• IN & EDIT Architecture, France
  
• Karim Muallem, UK
  
• Tina Manis Associates, USA
  

The shortlisted entries and other applications that demonstrate the
range of work submitted to the competition will be exhibited at The
Lightbox from 31 March - 12 April 2009 and the winner will be announced
on the 6 April 2009. Above and below: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The winning entry will be engineered and constructed by Facit and
shown as part of Tent London during the London Design Festival 2009,
before taking up residence at The Lightbox.
AREA, Greece
“We believe that good architecture operates within the given
parameters to transform abstract building systems into specific
material investigations. Projects acquire meaning when they relate to
their site and their community, both through form and program. We see
the Art Fund Pavilion as an important opportunity to offer its
community a new place of exploration and social enjoyment.” AREA,
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Feix&Merlin, UK
“The Lightbox have created a fantastic opportunity for a wonderful
piece of micro-architecture, and we hope to give them a pavilion that
is high impact but low-cost, one that is sustainable and efficient in
its use of materials, flexible in its architecture, and ultimately a
pavilion that has a bit of magic about it, a bit of intrigue, and
almost certainly some naughtiness.” Feix&Merlin Architects with
Martin Stockley Associates, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
IN & EDIT, France
“The Art Fund Pavilion competition has been a great opportunity for
IN&EDIT to pursue our reflections on post-industrialized
sustainable issues. By using continuous variations on a standard
pattern, we propose to use the full possibilities of a computerized
controlled process: optimized wood cutting allowing each piece to be
different. The assembly of the pre-mounted elements like a 3D puzzle,
will reveal a sustainable, ludic, inviting, segmented and yet a
continuous structure.” IN & EDIT Architecture
Karim Muallem, UK
“Complexity in design need not be always in the complexity of the
form but rather in the complexity of its responsiveness. Clever designs
are not always about the elaborateness of the shape but rather in there
adaptability. The idea was to start with a simple unassertive compact
box, and through a process of responsive transformation triggered by
crowd movement and function alterations end up with a highly adaptable
and exiting form.” Karim Muallem
Tina Manis Associates, USA
“It’s difficult to ignore the global scale of financial crisis that
engulfs us at this time. And in this particularly rich time of global
economic shifts, architecture and creative thinking has the opportunity
to be at its highest. Often, conflict coincides with true invention and
in order to make the most of these moments, we should return to the
elemental disciplines in life that make it wonderful; such as art.”
Tina Manis Associates, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Quotes from the Judges:
“The unprecedented level of interest in this competition may be
attributed to a global slowdown being experienced by many professional
practices and the special interest associated with the prospect of
designing a public building/space, be it even a small public space - a
definite tick box on most architects list of dream projects.” Jimmy
MacDonald, Tent London
“When we established this competition, we hoped it would stimulate
interest from designers, but hardly imagined that it would receive this
kind of global recognition. It is also wonderful that professionals
take The Lightbox seriously and want to be involved with our
award-winning building.” Marilyn Scott, Director, The Lightbox
“Along with the other members of the jury, I was impressed by
entrants’ rigour and inventiveness in meeting the competition brief,
and I am particularly delighted that the shortlisted entries represent
a wide range of international practice.” Sarah Ichioka, Director, The
Architecture Foundation
“The response to this competition - a really imaginative use of The
Art Fund Prize by The Lightbox - has been astonishing, both for the
number and variety of entries and their creativity. It was difficult to
select just five, and any one of them could be a worthy winner, which
makes the task of making the final choice a real challenge. One thing
is for sure – whichever design is chosen, The Art Fund Pavilion is
going to be a new jewel in the crown won for Woking by The Lightbox.”
David Barrie, Director, The Art Fund
“The Facit team was really impressed with the quality of applicants
for The Art Fund Pavilion. The shortlisted entries cover a wide variety
of methods to which our system can be applied. This has been a great
opportunity for us to see how others interpret our design approach to
CNC technology in architecture. The five finalists illustrate the
diversity to which our system can be applied, and we look forward to
producing the winning structure.” Dominic McLausland, Facit

From Rose Etherington (dezeen.com)