In 1991, the architectural firm James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, with the involvement of Thomas Muirhead, unveiled the Bookshop Pavilion—an architectural gem located within the historic gardens of the Venice Arsenale. The pavilion is part of a remarkable ensemble of over 25 structures, each designed by internationally acclaimed architects as part of the Venice Biennale.
The gardens serve as an architectural museum, encapsulating the evolution and diversity of design over the past 125 years. They beautifully chronicle the varied architectural philosophies and styles, ranging from the symmetry and grandeur of Neoclassicism to the abstract and geometric forms of Neoplasticism to the raw, exposed materials indicative of Brutalist Architecture.
Bookshop Pavilion Technical Information
- Architects: James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, & Thomas Muirhead
- Location: Venice, Italy
- Type: Commercial, Book Pavilion
- Materials: Copper, Redwood
- Project Year: 1989 – 1991
- Area: 200 m2
- Photographs: © Dida Biggi
I have a rather ad hoc and expedient attitude to structure, particularly as a design element, and I usually manage to prevent it from intruding in the architectural solution.
– James Stirling 1
Bookshop Pavilion Photographs
The Iconic ‘Book Ship’ Pavilion
Architects such as Josef Hoffman, Gerrit Rietveld, Alvar Aalto, Sverre Fehn, and Carlo Scarpa have left their marks in the Venice Biennale gardens.
At the end of the 1980s, the British architects James Stirling and Thomas Muirhead designed the “book ship,” a permanent pavilion to sell books located strategically between the Vaporetto station and the exhibition grounds.
The elongated one-story building covers an area of around 200 m2. The building is about 30 meters long and exceptionally narrow (6 meters). The prominent, beveled roof is covered with copper and follows the round shape of the ground plan. The architect covered the underside of the roof with redwood both inside and outside.
To speak of the book pavilion is first to evoke things past, namely the two rows of trees between which the architectural office of Stirling Wilford & Associates situated their building in 1991. With the exception of two or three, these trees have since disappeared, and the book pavilion now stands on a surface sparsely covered with grass. The park has undoubtedly been neglected. Even more than for other buildings in the Giardini, earlier visits to the pavilion need to be brought to mind to regain the meaning of this poetic design.
– Martin Steinmann 2
The roof protrusion forms a protected area on three sides of the building in front of the continuous glass strip, which serves as a shop window. At the same time, the roof projection protects the exhibited books from the sunshine.
A skylight follows the building’s figure and draws natural light into the interior. An inscription on the roof marks the entrance to the book ship. Access is made between the rows of trees over a semi-circular, paved entrance terrace. The entrance to the building is placed on the narrow side of the building. On this side, the building volume is straight cut off, and the cross-section of the building appears as a facade figure.
This clear-cut contrasts with the rounded shape on the opposite side. The books are on display on a 40-meter-long surface that runs along the strip window. The bookshelves are located directly below the presentation desk. Inside, the visitor is surrounded by glass, giving the impression of being surrounded by nature. The bookshop is like a boat, thought of as an allusion to the hustle and bustle of the modern city of Venice.
The idea of a boat guided the architects in their design, as the many drawings outlining the design process indicate. The lantern that provides daylight to the space below looks in many of these drawings like the bridge of a ship. The design for the pavilion’s entrance was especially problematic for the architects. The described tower appears only late in the designing process and disrupts the sought-after image by introducing other associations. It is not the only place where this happens. Thus, the color of the roof has also given rise to the image of huts, the kind found in the lagoons covered with reeds.
– Martin Steinmann 2
Bookshop Pavilion Plans
Bookshop Pavilion Image Gallery
About James Stirling
James Stirling (1926-1992) of Great Britain is considered by many as the premier architect of his generation, an unparalleled innovator in postwar international architecture. Stirling was born in Glasgow in 1926. He was educated at the University of Liverpool School of Architecture and began his practice in partnership with James Gowan in London in 1956. Over seven years, they designed some of the most significant projects of the time, most notably the garden apartments at Ham Common (1955-58), the seminal Engineering Building at Leicester University (1959-63), and the Cambridge University History Building (1964-67).
Additional Notes and Credits
- Wilford, Michael, and Stirling, James. James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Associates: Buildings and Projects 1975-1992. Thames & Hudson, 1994.
- Changing Images by Martin Steinmann, Via commonpavilions
- Curtis, William J.R. Modern Architecture Since 1900. Phaidon Press, 1996.
Yes, I am Tom Muirhead and I co-designed the Venice Biennale Bookshop with James Stirling. I also supervised the construction. However for legal reasons relating to the nature of Jim’s partnership with Michael Wilford, Jim always had to credit Wilford as co-Author of all their projects. In reality Wilford had no design role in the practice. He was responsible for managing it and for negotiating contracts. That was all. In the many years I spent working closely with the practice, I never saw Wilford involved in any way with the design side. He was never invited to play any role in it and never put himself forward to do so. The development of this particular project (one of many by the practice with which I was involved) was a long story, which I summarised in various publications at the time (in Italian and English). I also edited a small book about it: https://www.amazon.in/James-Stirling-Padiglione-Biennale-Venezia/dp/8843536257
Thank you very much for your comment! We’re honored to hear directly from you.
Your clarification is invaluable, and we’ve updated the article to reflect the context you shared. Thank you also for the book reference.
Michael Wilford had nothing to do with this project in any way.
Thank you very much for your comment, Tom.
If this is indeed Thomas Muirhead, we are truly honored to hear from you directly. Your clarification regarding Michael Wilford’s involvement in the Bookshop Pavilion is invaluable—especially given your close work with James Stirling and deep insight into the project.
Our article currently references the broader firm name, James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, as it appears in archival sources such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA). That said, we recognize the importance of accurately distinguishing between the firm’s official attribution and the individuals directly involved in the design process.
We’ll revise the article accordingly to clarify this distinction. If you’d be open to sharing further insight into the project’s development, we would be deeply grateful. It would be a privilege to expand our content with your perspective for the benefit of our readers and the wider architectural community.