Gbolade Design Studio were invited to participate in the Venice Biennale Architettura 2023! This has been a real highlight of the practice.

Our installation response centres The Dominoes Club, Brixton, and the Brixton Soup Kitchen - incredible community voices that make a. big difference to their local community.

Below, we talk about our installation and share our thoughts about the future of our built environment.

Project Description:

On 22 June 1948, the HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, bringing workers from the West Indies to help fill post-war UK labour shortages. Dubbed the ‘Windrush generation’, the community faced intolerance and was denied access to public services and accommodation.
This exhibition for The Laboratory of the Future focuses on a new building and the social and cultural ecosystems of the users of the Lloyd Leon Community Centre ecosystems that renew and empower the West Indian community in Brixton, London, and far beyond.
This exhibition is a celebration of the rich and diverse history of the British West Indian community. It explores the way the centre serves some of the most vulnerable in society, from the elderly who have a place to reminisce and stave off loneliness to those who need to get back on their feet with food and work in this tightknit community.

Credits:

Authorial collaborators
David Jobanputra (Domino: A Cultural Odyssey Video), Kimi Gill Photography (Photographs of The Brixton Domino Players)
Technical collaborators
Foresso (Products From Unavoidable Waste), The Cork Flooring Company (Soundabsorbing Cork Wall Linings), Benetti HOME and Innerspace Cheshire (Airpurifying Moss Wall Products)
Team
Sara de Araújo Barbado (Senior Architect), Carmina Ionescu (Senior Architect), Nisha Jassal (Studio Administrator)
With the additional support of
Lambeth Council, Lloyd Leon Community Centre: Brixton Immortals Dominoes Club & Brixton Soup Kitchen

For more, you can head over the the Venice Biennale website: https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2023/dangerous-liaisons/gbolade-design-studio