Caruso St John
Encyclopedia
They have gained an international reputation for excellence in designing contemporary projects in the public realm. The practice came to public attention with the New Art Gallery in Walsall
Walsall Art Gallery
The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery and additional money from the European Regional Development...
, a commission won in an international competition in 1995. From these origins in the visual arts, where a sensitivity to experience and context is required, the practice has extended its expertise and now works on a broad range of projects in the public and private realms. Current clients include Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, the V&A
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and the Arts Council of England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
, as well as European housing developers Trudo, the SBB (Swiss National Railways) and the Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery
Gagosian Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. There are currently eleven gallery spaces: three in New York; two in London; one in each of Beverly Hills, Rome, Athens, Paris, Geneva, Hong Kong and Moscow.-1980s:...
. Caruso St John aims to have a wide range of work at a variety of scales and want to resist the trend of increased size and specialisation that dominates contemporary architecture.
The practice is interested in the emotional potential and physical qualities of construction. This attitude has developed out a fascination for materials, backed up with an involvement in academic and office based research. Built projects incorporate this research and respond to their physical context and brief in unexpected ways. The projects stand out by resisting off the peg construction. Both the New Art Gallery, Walsall
Walsall Art Gallery
The New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery and additional money from the European Regional Development...
(2000) and the Brick House, London
Brick House (London)
The Brick House is a private house in the Westbourne Grove area of west London that was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize for architecture...
(2006) have been short listed for the Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
, the UK’s most prestigious architecture award, in recognition of this ambition.
The practice is international in its outlook and in its make up, with many of the staff, including the partners, involved in teaching in schools of architecture, such as the final year design studio at the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
(2002-4). The office of approximately 20 work in an open studio in a 1930s factory building in East London which the practice converted to studio use for themselves in 2000.
See also
Works- Chiswick House Cafe (2010)
- Thomas Demand, Nationalgalerie (2009)
- Nottingham ContemporaryNottingham ContemporaryNottingham Contemporary is a contemporary art centre in the Lace Market area of Nottingham...
(2009) - Frieze Art Fair (2009)
- Downing College, Cambridge (2009)
- The Victoria and Albert Museum of ChildhoodV&A Museum of ChildhoodThe V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum , which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.-History:...
(2007) - Spike Island Artists' Studios (2006)
- Gagosian Gallery Rome (2006)
- Gagosian Gallery Davies St (2006)
- Stephen Friedman Gallery (2005)
- Hallfield School (2005)
- Brick HouseBrick House (London)The Brick House is a private house in the Westbourne Grove area of west London that was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize for architecture...
(2005) - Gagosian Gallery Britannia St (2005)
- Stortoget, Kalmar (2004)
- Coate House (2001)
- Barbican Concert Hall (2001)
- New Art Gallery WalsallWalsall Art GalleryThe New Art Gallery Walsall is a modern and contemporary art gallery sited in the centre of the West Midlands town of Walsall, England. It was built with £21 million of public funding, including £15.75 million from the UK National Lottery and additional money from the European Regional Development...
(2000) - Bankside Directional Signage System (1999)
- House in Lincolnshire (1994)