The Weorgoran Pavilion was part of the Ring, a programme I was artistic director for on behalf of Canal & River Trust. The Pavilion was designed by the excellent artist architecture practice NEON and is named after the original settlers of the Worcestershire area – the “Weorgoran”. The translation of this word from old Saxon English is “the people of the winding river” and the pavilion is designed to act as a device that enables the viewer to engage with the heritage of the waterways that surround the town.

The Pavilion takes inspiration from the architectural vocabulary of the canals and waterways, specifically the curved walls of the locks that are found close to the site. This geometry is referenced though a sweeping, sinuous wall which winds in and out to enclose a stage and a series of pockets for visitor “immersion”. The pavilion’s envelope is designed to emulate the way light and wind can affect the visual appearance of the surface of water. The pavilion hosted “The Festival by the River” which ran between 15th – 24th of June 2018.