Templo use typography to evoke the geology of Kenya in its Venice Biennale identity

Anoushka Rodda and Pali Palavathanan, co-founders of Templo, have worked on the British Pavilion’s visual identity for the past three editions of the Venice Architecture and Arts Biennales, so they know exactly what it takes to bring culture to the forefront. This year’s, titled Geology Of Britannic Repair, Kenya’s pastoral scenes are brought to the pavilion and Templo reflect the topology and geology of the Rift Valley, to explore themes of “geology, extractive processes, colonialism, tectonic and geopolitical fragmentation, and the role the non-extractive architecture can play in social and environmental repair,” says Anoushka.

The design system is both geometric and organic, highlighting the natural order of the natural world, ripe for graphic representation. But, it was important for Templo to avoid cliche. The team employed Kenya’s colours, alongside their logo typeface to ensure thematic connection. The typeface has a sharp Lithic quality and sit raised, it matching the topographical relief of the valley, before turning into organic waves and earthy grounding. Templo’s animation work takes on characters of tectonic motion, and the cycles of rift and repair. “The concept of architecture as earth practice was as fundamental to the visual identity as it is to the commissions within the pavilion,” says Pali.

In initial stages, Templo worked with Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of Cave_bureau, a Nairobi-based bureau of architects, curator and writer Owen Hopkins, and Dr Kathryn Yusoff, professor of Inhuman Geography at Queen Mary University of London. Workshops with these curators ensured alignment, followed by regular catch-ups so as to not lose sight of the project’s ambitions.

Looking at Cave_bureau’s treatment of the pavilion’s exterior is the first visual contact visitors make with the project. This is a standout moment for Pali: “With its columned façade, the pavilion itself is quite an imperious, authoritative building.” The Cave_bureau’s project confronts this by draping it with a colourful beaded veil inspired by Masaai dwellings. A key element of the project is raised here; “softening of the edges” as Pali puts it, a logic applied across Templo’s design system. For Anoushka, it was the Shimoni Slave Cave that stood out. “The installation reimagines historic trauma as something beautiful and calming,” she says, referencing a 1:1 scale reproduction of the interiors of Kenya’s Shimoni Caves where slaves were once held.

Templo’s Geology of Britannic Repair identity ranges across many curatorial areas, from the visual to tangible allowing it to encapsulate both experiences and aesthetics. It’s ready for a global audience to confront what’s already right there in front of them.