2025 SHORTLIST
We thank you for participating in this year's Antepavilion. As usual we received a large number of high quality entries.
The judges met on 27th March at Hoxton Docks and selected a shortlist of five from 111 entries. Our aim to encourage more entries from the world of pure and applied arts has been only partially successful and entrants with architectural backgrounds still predominate. The shortlisted entries will each receive a bursary of £500 to help them with their final presentation to be held on 17th April.
SHORTLISTED:
MOONUMENT
BY GEORGE GIL
“Every 28 days, the great silver Moon rises from her slumber, climbing high above the restless canal. She was not like the Sun, who ruled over calm waters and drowsy fish. No, the Moon was a queen of motion, a herald of the hunt.
As her light spilled across the waves, the water stirred. Below, the SHARKS! paused from their silent patrols, sensing the call. The Moon’s glow turned the water into a world of shifting shadows, perfect for the swift and the cunning.
As the SHARKS! hunted through cloudy waters of bureaucracy, the Moon watched, proud of her children of the deep. Unlike others, she did not fear them. She did not shun their hunger or their nature. Instead, she celebrated them, encouraging their chase, their instinct, their purpose.
And so, the Moon and the sharks danced together—one above, casting silver ribbons upon the canal, the others below, swift and unseen, embracing the night.Sharks are said to be at their most active under a full moon. Moonument is said to miraculously appear from the ether over them, flickering and transforming between phases as passers by move along the canal around it. Moonument is a celebration of Antepavilion’s recent triumphs. It fundamentally questions Hackney’s definition of development through three facets: permanence, size, and attachment. It is an animated symbol of contradiction: bold yet subtle, large yet light, shallow yet deep, familiar yet unrecognisable.”
SHORTLISTED:
RED TAPE
BY LUKE LUPTON
“Its 2025, London sprawls before you into its peaked horizon. Patchwork streets, redbrick terraces, forgotten churches, glassy towers, parkland, pavement, pubs, canals, cafes and cobbles. The city has emerged, through reformations, fires, wars, whims, sweat and craft to the tapes- try of wonderful chaos we walk today.
But its face is starting to swell. Its finding it hard to breathe.
There's a tight red noose snaking its way around the city, blocking the windpipe of wonder, sticking to brick like gum on a shoe and halting the vital lifeblood of creativity, risk and progress.
Red Tape proposes two big rolls of rep tape (1) that sit on the pavilion plinth....(2) insidiously weaving its way around the plinth and its building...(3) crossing roads and climbing walls...Red Tape puts the ridiculousness and reach of our planning system in plain sight.”
SHORTLISTED:
RESONANT NEST
BY ROBIN SPARKES AT BODYCLOCK
" Reinterpreting the historic sound mirrors of Dungeness, UK, Resonant Nest: An Amphitheatre for Birds fosters stronger relationships between urban and avian ecosystems along the waterways of Hoxton. The design adapts boat-building methodologies to bend wood into a parabolic curve, focusing sound to extend the reach of high-frequency avian calls over greater distances from within the cone. Positioned atop the remaining Lower Nest of the ANTECHAMBER, this structure shifts perception from the visual to the sonic environment of birds.
The parabolic mirror is formed using boat-building bending techniques, with red louro cladding repurposed from previous use. The truss system that supports the mirror also functions as an eight-unit bird box structure, offering sanctuary to Hoxton’s songbirds. The structural truss elements are constructed from reclaimed timber salvaged from the Upper Nest of the ANTECHAMBER. This interplay between reclaimed materials and methodology reinforces the project’s commitment to adaptive reuse.
The mirror creates an acoustic space where high-frequency avian phonetics can be heard over the industrial soundscape. Birdsong, occupying higher frequency ranges, consists of short, rapid wavelengths, contrasting with the low-frequency industrial noise of traffic, construction, and canal activity. These low, wide wave- lengths travel greater distances, monopolizing the soundscape and disrupting birds’ communication exchange. Avian vocalizations function as a complex system of acoustic signaling, facilitating both intraspecies and interspecies communication through learned phonation patterns, frequency modulation, and temporal structuring. These vocalizations play a critical role in territory establishment, mate attraction, and social cohesion, with songbirds (Passeri) exhibiting regionally distinct dialects shaped by environmental feedback and neuroplasticity."
SHORTLISTED::
SISYPHUS
BY CARLOS TOLOSA TEJEDOR and KILIAN SCHELLENBERGER OF 8-)(8-parenthesis)
“ Sisyphos, from Greek mythology, is a figure defined not by heroism, but by selfishness, cunning, and an almost absurd disregard for the natural order. A notorious king of Corinth, he earned his place in myth not through bravery or wisdom, but through his relentless manipulation of both mortals and gods. Sisyphus was infamous for cheating death—twice— first by shackling the god of death, Thanatos, and lat- er by trapping Hades himself. His actions, driven by ego and arrogance, defied the fundamental rules of life and death, earning him a punishment that was as ridiculous as it was eternal: to push a massive boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down every time he neared the top.
This endless cycle, a task that could never be com- pleted, was a punishment that mocked the very idea of purpose or achievement. Sisyphus’ story is one of absurdity—where effort leads to no progress, and per- sistence only ensures failure. His punishment stands as a symbol not of perseverance, but of the futility and folly of trying to outsmart fate. It’s a tale that exposes the limits of human hubris and the ridiculousness of our futile attempts to defy the inevitable.
Our proposal for the Antepavilion takes inspiration from this myth, exploring the absurdity of striving against impossible odds, and the bottles errands ran by police and planning authorities when it serves no real purpose.
As the brief suggests, this year’s Antepavilion will of- fer three distinct experiences in three dedicated spac- es: Platform/Podium/Plinth, The Pyramid, and The Water Jet."
SHORTLISTED:
THE LAST STRAW
BY CHAO GAO AT CIAOCIAO DESIGN
" The Last Straw embody the fragile state of art, craft, and nature in the modern world while exposing the political tensions between Antepavilion and Hackney Council. More than an installation, they are declaration of the planning crisis, challenging restrictive policies that stifle creative and sustainable practices.
Far from passive sculptures, The Last Straw are catalysts for change, confronting four urgent issues:
The loss of traditional craftsmanship – Reviving endangered skills like straw craft and natural material construction.
The disappearance of wilderness – Restoring biodiversity and green spaces in the urban fabric.
The increasing disconnect from nature – Reconnecting Londoners with hands-on making, craft, and the natural world.
The constraints of current building regulations – Challenging the dominance of industrial materials by advocating for low- carbon, natural alternatives.
Beyond the final installation, The Last Straw is a movement—reviving craftsmanship, fostering play, and driving education. Built from
raw, honest materials like mud and straw, The Last Straw embrace simplicity to ensure inclusivity and engagement. Rooted in the form of the traditional bee skep, crafted in a natural setting, they blur the boundaries between art, craft, and architecture—demanding the preservation of these threatened traditions in an increasingly controlled urban world."
THE JURY
Hannah Sheerin & Lioba Pflaum (goodshape) (winners of 2024 Antepavilion); Ana Genovés, Nick Goss, Damien Meade, Helen Marten, Magali Reus (Artists); Ed Moseley (Co-Founder & Director of London Structures Lab); Russell Gray (Director of Shiva Ltd)