Giant among visitor centres: Ireland's entry for Venice showpiece

The Irish Times - Wednesday, July 11, 2012

FRANK McDONALD, Environment Editor

THE NEW Giants Causeway Visitor Centre is to feature at this years Venice Architecture Biennale in an exhibition of work by Dublin-based architects Heneghan Peng representing Ireland.

A model of the 18.5 million (23.4 million) centre which appears to be hewn from basalt and folded into the landscape will be part of an Irish pavilion in the Arsenale di Venezia entitled Shifiting Ground.

This refers not just to Heneghan Pengs play with geometry and landscape in Co Antrim, but more specifically to their success in going beyond national architecture to win major projects abroad.

The Irish pavilion at the 13th biennale will, they say, chart a position for Irish architecture in a global culture where the modes of production of architecture are radically altered.

Its centrepiece will be a responsive oscillating bench that invites visitors to balance their respective weights. This was inspired by an ancient Egyptian rod used to measure water levels of the river Nile.

Heneghan Peng Architects headed by Roisn Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng were selected to represent Ireland because they are working across three continents on a range of competition-winning projects. Several of these are in sensitive locations, including three Unesco world heritage sites: the Grand Egyptian Museum at the Pyramids; the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre; and a Rhine bridge near Lorelei.

Other big projects include a pair of bridges at the 2012 London Olympic Park, a library and school of architecture for the University of Greenwich in London, and the Palestinian Museum near Ramallah.

Minister for Arts and Heritage Jimmy Deenihan said Heneghan Peng epitomises the impact Irish architects can make and the biennale would bring further recognition to Irish architects.

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Giant among visitor centres: Ireland's entry for Venice showpiece