New Work: Global Cities
Time-lapse film of the 18 day build.
Angus Hyland and William Russell have designed Global Cities, a major free exhibition that is taking place in the spectacular Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London from 20 June through 27 August.
A view of the exhibition from the west end of Turbine Hall.
The exhibition has been developed from a show that formed the centrepiece of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2006 by the Tate curatorial team, Professor Richard Burdett and his team at the London School of Economics (LSE), with Pentagram providing art direction throughout.
Typographic map designed by Angus Hyland which shows a comparison of urban growth in ten global cities.
Global Cities looks at five major issues – size, speed, form, density and diversity – and their effects on ten major urban centers: Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo. The exhibition places comparative socio-economic and geographic data alongside video and photography by twenty artists and architects and specially commissioned London-inspired work by Nigel Coates, Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher, Fritz Haeg, Rem Koolhaas, Nils Norman and Richard Wentworth.
William Russell’s use of scaffolding to create a multi-storey system of exhibition spaces powerfully evokes the urban experience.
Constructed using scaffolding, William Russell’s exhibition design aims to convey a powerfully urban physical presence within the vast expanse of Turbine Hall. The scheme comprises a two-storey construction which includes a pier that extends Turbine Hall’s bridge out over the main exhibition space and floats on top of seven projection rooms for video artwork. Running centrally through the exhibition at ground level is a raised dais which constitutes the main exhibition space. The facade of the seven projection rooms provide a canvas for the LSE and Angus Hyland’s city data, while the freestanding wall at the perimeter of the dais displays works by artists and architects. Under Turbine Hall’s central bridge, where low light levels make projection more visible, three large screens and a seating area enable further storytelling. The pier provides a space for the Tate’s specially commissioned work for this exhibition.
A projection and storytelling area was created under Turbine Hall’s central bridge.
The pier floats out from Turbine Hall’s bridge over the video projection rooms and provides a space to display the Tate’s specially commissioned pieces that respond to London.
Russell says of the installation: “Our basic structural medium utilizes extensive scaffold technology, where all materials are hired and/or reusable, and can be installed at great speed. Perhaps most importantly, the scaffold structure is a rudimentary visual metaphor with which all city dwellers resonate, explicit about its temporary nature, indicative of the familiar graffiti and Favela that is the reality of urban environments. Used both within and above the exhibition, the structure provides dramatic multilevel perspectives for the visitor.” The exhibition was built in 18 days.
Angus Hyland’s exhibition graphics provide context for artworks on the ground floor.
Angus Hyland art directed the exhibition, complementing Russell’s urban vision by basing the visual identity for the show around a custom-made stencil font. The color palette is comprised of five core colors, one for each thematic zone within the exhibition.
Exhibition map showing the zoning of the space.
Hyland collaborated with academics from the LSE to produce the information graphics which form the core of the ground floor of the exhibition, establishing an interchange between the LSE’s city data and the work of artists and architects. Clear information graphics are complemented by bold typographic statements. The restrained graphic language communicates key facts that add context to the artwork on display.
Angus Hyland’s advertising posters for the exhibition.
Hyland also produced the large scale graphics that dominate the “skyline” and entrance to the exhibition, enhancing the feeling of being within a cityscape created by Russell’s exhibition design. The accompanying exhibition programme and advertising posters were also created by Pentagram.
Bus Stop, by Nils Norman, one of the pieces specially commissioned by the Tate, in front of one of Angus Hyland’s billboard graphics.
Global Cities is open daily between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Wooden models created from data compiled by the LSE representing population density in London, Mexico City, Mumbai and Cairo.