2019 marked the 25th year of Sarah Wigglesworth Architects and to celebrate we hosted a series of curated events taking place across the year. The events were reflective, looking at our progress to consider the future not only of the practice, but of the wider architectural realm.
The SWA25 programme kicked off on 1st March 2019, with the commencement of our artist residency. Selected from over 150 applications, Becky Shaw visited our studio multiple times across a period of 3-6 months and developed a body of work based on her time in the practice. During London Festival of Architecture 2019 we held an open studio at our office where visitors could meet Becky Shaw and the SWA team, and aspiring architects can attend a portfolio surgery, as well as a cycle tour where we visited a handful of our buildings and shared the story behind them. Our programme was planned to culminate in an exhibition at the Anise Gallery, due to open on 26th March 2020, showcasing our resident artist’s final outcome and a series of building studies undertaken by SWA staff during the 25th year. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we took the decision to cancel our SWA25 exhibition. The works that were due to be exhibited were later on show at our office at 10 Stock Orchard Street during an Open House event in 2022.
We were delighted to host such a varied programme which celebrated not only our work but our core values, in particular creative collaboration and support for emerging artists and practitioners.