Gareth Hoskins to design Scottish pavilion for Venice Biennale

Gareth Hoskins has won the competition to design Scotland's first standalone pavilion at the Venice Biennale international architecture festival.

The Glasgow-based architect saw off around 50 practices to win the prize project – part gallery/ part venue for debates – nicknamed the Gathering Space – although the final decision has yet to be ratified by the Scottish government.

According to the Scottish paper The Herald, which announced the Hoskins' victory this morning (30 April), the scheme will 'enclose both an indoor auditorium, for 100 people, and an outdoor area seating 200 people'.

The project was been backed by both the Lighthouse architecture centre and the Scottish government and already has a pledge of £75,000 of Scottish government cash.

The contest for the separate Scottish 'presence' emerged just days after British Pavilion curator Ellis Woodman sparked criticism about the stands' Britishness by announcing he was only intending to showcase the work of five London-based practices.

Neither Gareth Hoskins nor the Lighthouse were available for comment.