The ghosts of Caruso St John: a new show examines 33 unrealised projects

Caruso St John is the subject of an exhibition at the Gallery of Contemporary Art in České Budějovice, a city in the southern Czech Republic. Models, drawings and photography from 33 competitions and six projects show the development of the architecture practice over 26 years, giving 29 unrealised concepts the chance to shine.
The firm compares its unrealised output to the designing of an imaginary city. When Adam Caruso and Peter St John first established their studio in 1990, they were entering competitions once or twice a year. Now, it’s between five and ten, sometimes more. Despite the high risk of failure due to the fiercely competitive nature of the projects and the tough panels of judges with varying interests, the practice continues to put time and money into the competition process. The art of the competition lies not just in ideas, but also in presentation, practicalities and, most importantly to the architects, clarity.
While the competition process is risky, it allowed Caruso St John to develop and demonstrate the aspirations of its practice
Examining the competition process itself, as well as the architecture, the exhibition presents books of original A2 panels and models submitted by the practice. This is where the exhibition is most illuminating, showing the development of Caruso St John through an accumulation of projects and ideas displaying the increasing attention given by the architects to history and context. Curator Michal Škoda describes their work as strong and poetic. ‘I’m fascinated by their sensitivity for place, but also for material and detail,’ he says, ‘It is important not only to build, but also to reconstruct and Caruso St John make a really great connection between the old and new.’
Award-winning projects from the practice have demonstrated this respectful approach to history. The Tate Britain renovation completed in 2014 earned them the Civic Trust Award, New London Architecture Conservation and Retrofit Award and RIBA Award, and in 2016 the practice won the RIBA Stirling Prize for Newport Street Gallery in London. Celebrating the physicality of these realised projects, large-scale photography by Hélène Binet is displayed across the exhibition, showing the buildings in full colour and high definition.
The exhibition shows the original panels from A2 books that were submitted to 33 competitions since the firm's inauguration, along with six projects that have since been realised
The first room displays five large building models – one completed building, one in development and three unsuccessful competition designs
Large colour prints of photographs by Hélène Binet show recently completed buildings in London, Zurich, St Gallen, Bremen and Lille
INFORMATION
’Caruso St John – 33 Competitions, 6 Projects’ is on view until 20 November 2016. For more information visit the Gallery of Contemporary Art / House of Art České Budějovice website
ADDRESS
House of Art
Náměstí Přemysla Otakara II. 38,
České Budějovice
TELEPHONE
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
420.386 360 539
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
This designer is revitalising the lost folk tradition of Ukraine’s painted cottages
Through gleaming hammered-steel panels, Victoria Yakusha is opening a dialogue about ancestral memory, craft and womanhood
-
Lind Canvas is a new electric surfboard extending surf beyond the wave
Swedish minimalism meets California cool with Lind’s new electric surfboard, promising the feeling of a never-ending wave. Wallpaper* heads to the Swedish archipelago to try it out
-
A guide to modernism’s most influential architects
From Bauhaus and brutalism to California and midcentury, these are the architects who shaped modernist architecture in the 20th century
-
Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction
‘Paper Clouds’, an installation by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is a poetic design that furthers research into the use of washi paper in construction
-
Foster + Partners to design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II
For the Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Foster + Partners designs proposal includes a new bridge, gates, gardens and figurative sculptures in St James’ Park
-
Wolves Lane Centre brings greenery, growing and grass roots together
Wolves Lane Centre, a new, green community hub in north London by Material Cultures and Studio Gil, brings to the fore natural materials and a spirit of togetherness
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshop
New Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being reborn as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Lego and Serpentine celebrate World Play Day with a new pavilion
Lego and Serpentine have just unveiled their Play Pavilion; a colourful new structure in Kensington Gardens in London and a gesture that celebrates World Play Day (11 June)
-
Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interior
Abbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
-
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum