We’re gearing up for our next NEWNOWNEXT: A New Generation with Clancy Moore, TAKA, Steve Larkin and Hall McKnight on 17 June at the Design Museum London. Ireland is the country of focus at this year’s London Festival of Architecture a part of which is New Horizon which has been curated by IAF director Nathalie Weadick and Raymund Ryan (architectural critic and curator).

New Horizon takes 10 emerging Irish architecture practices and allocates them to one of three cities. The first outing of New Horizon in London is a collaboration between the four practices. They have erected two temporary structures at King’s Cross where they will host talks, performances and events. Hall McKnight have constructed Yellow Pavillion, a structure that is sited in the southwest corner of Cubitt Square, whilst another larger structure, Red Pavillion by TAKA, Steve Larkin Architects and Clancy Moore Architects is sited at the square’s northern end.

The architects participating in New Horizon: Clancy Moore, TAKA, Hall McKnight, Steve Larkin and Emmett Scanlon, belong to the next generation. Born after the 1970s and educated on the cusp of the new millennium, they commenced practice as Europe’s economy encountered massive challenges. These new practices have not only weathered that storm, they exhibit resourcefulness and optimism in their profession. Each has found a way to practice critically, to look at what exists in nature and the built environment, to discover potential in previously overlooked situations, to collaborate across disciplines and evolve new modes of practice for the 21st century.

TAKA is an architecture practice based in Dublin and was founded by Alice Casey and Cian Deegan. They have exhibited at the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2008 and co-curated the Irish Pavilion in 2010. As well as numerous national and international awards TAKA have been nominated for the Mies Van der Rohe award and were finalists in the 2014 BD Young Architect of the Year Award.

TAKA are focused on creating buildings which have a distinct character. Their approach involves a careful and economic approach to materials and construction. TAKA have worked on a wide range of project types ranging from domestic extensions to commercial and public buildings.

Pictured is TAKA’s Merrion Cricket Pavilion. This new pavilion for Merrion Cricket Club replaces the earlier clubhouse, which was damaged by flooding from the river Dodder. The new building takes the form of a typical pavilion with a pitched roof and a viewing terrace, but the form is distorted to embrace the particularities of the site. As part of a flood protection strategy the building is raised on a low podium with a concrete wainscoting around the perimeter. Above this level the walls consist of either brick or window infill. The main interior space is the long room bar which looks out over pitches. Between the bar space and the terrace there are a  number of opportunities for viewing the pitches.

www.taka.ie

NEWNOWNEXT: A New Generation 17 June, Design Museum London will be chaired by Oliver Wainright, critic at The Guardian. There was a high demand and the panel discussion is now fully booked.