The British Council recently announced that London-based practice Carmody Groarke have been selected to design the UK pavilion at the 2015 Feria Internacional del Libro (FIL) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The organisers of the international event, which is the largest literary festival in the Spanish speaking world, have chosen the UK to be this year's "Guest of Honour" as part of a bilateral initiative launched to "build, strengthen and celebrate the growing connections" between the two countries.
Carmody Groarke's design for the pavilion will need to accommodate a range of uses including a retail space for a bookselling partner, a business area for publishers, exhibition spaces and an informal area for literary and music events. A large delegation of writers will be taken to Mexico from the UK and will use the pavilion as a base for the duration of the festival.
Kevin Carmody and Andy Groarke have said that "we see this as an opportunity to make the UK pavilion a centrepiece for congregation, exhibition and debate within the book fair." Vicky Richardson, Director of Architecture, Design, Fashion at the British Council, said that "we were impressed by Carmody Groarke’s inspired response to the brief, which relates sensitively to the context of the Book Fair and also proposes a bold, flexible structure."
