Rotative Studio brightens Swiss town square with modular wooden pavilions

Architecture firm Rotative Studio has created three colourful temporary pavilions for reading and socialising in the Place du Marché square in Aigle, Switzerland.

Called Three Pavilions, the structures are designed to be "a playful intervention that could help revitalise the Place du Marché", a square in the middle of the historic town.

Rotative Studio has built three colourful pavilions in Aigle

"This square will undergo a transformation during the next years, to become greener and more pedestrian-friendly," Caterina Viguera, co-founder of Rotative Studio, told Dezeen.

"This work is not only about the design and layout of the pavilions but as much about the plan to revitalize the Place du Marché, to reinterpret what is there," she added.

The largest structure is used for community meetings

The Three Pavilions are constructed from steel, with Méranti plywood facades and larchwood flooring and furniture. Aluminium was used around the openings to protect the structures from water damage.

Rotative Studio chose these materials for their strength and durability, which was especially important as the structures were built on-site. After seven years, the pavilions will be relocated to another location in the city.

The tallest pavilion is designed for viewing the surroundings

"The pavilions are built in a modular way, to make the assemblage and dissemble simple," Viguera explained. "Designed as a modular system, the pavilions are prepared in the atelier of the local maker and transported and assembled on-site."

"The combination of steel and wood ensures makes this possible and ensures their durability and resistance in time," she added.

The blue pavilion houses a library of books

The smallest pavilion is six meters tall and has a curving staircase with a viewing platform at the top. Locals who climb to the top can take in views of the nearby Alps, as well as the wine fields around the town.

The blue pavilion is home to a library of books stored on shelves behind glass sliding doors. It also holds a large table and a bench where visitors can sit to read.

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The green pavilion, which is the largest and has a footprint of six by five meters, has benches all around the inside and an empty space in the middle for community events such as plays or theatre performances.

A large opening in the ceiling allows light to enter and visitors to look up at the sky above. A set of wooden stools can be placed both inside and around all of the structures.

Books are encased behind sliding glass doors

Each of the three wood-and-steel structures incorporates covered areas, steps and large openings that are accessible from all sides to reframe how both adults and children interact with the surrounding landscape.

"The locals are currently using the pavilions in different ways – they organise concerts, theatre plays, wine testings by the local winemakers and workshops between multidisciplinary groups," said Viguera.

"The children are the ones who have appropriated the structures the most: they usually arrive at the square after school, and play with the structures in multiple ways."

Each pavilion is made from steel and wood

Each structure has a different colour palette, made up of the three primary colours red, green and blue with decorative geometric lines. The architects hoped that the bright colours would add some vibrancy to the otherwise full public square.

"A strong colour palette of red, blue and green tones introduces a new identity to the square, in dialogue with the context," said the studio.

At night, the interior of the pavilions is illuminated, making them a safe space to enter in the evening.

Other recently designed pavilions include a structure designed by Kengo Kuma made from live bamboo and a pavilion informed by chocolate by architecture studio Wutopia Lab in Shanghai.

_The photography is courtesy ofRotative Studio. _

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Project credits:

Client : Commune d’Aigle, department d’urbanisme, mobilité et paysage

Built by : Guarnaccia Constructions

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#all #architecture #design #publicandleisure #installations #swissarchitecture #pavilions #plazaspiazzasandsquares #publicspace #piazzasandsquares

Mechanical musical instrument stands on Belfast quayside

Architects Eunan Deeney, Matthew Kernan and Hannah Wilson have created the five-metre-tall SoundYard musical pavilion on Queen's Quay in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The ten-metre-wide circular canopy with central oculus is supported on 16 slim columns, from which hang two concentric sets of suspended rods.

SoundYard comprises 500 concentric metal rods

Walking, running or playing below the structure triggers motion sensors that cause the mechanisms in the canopy to turn slowly, striking the hollow tubes around them.

The instrument was designed so that the music it creates gets louder as more people interact with it.

The instrument is situated opposite the Titanic Belfast museum

"In order for the installation to project its maximum sound, collaborative effort is needed by its users to set off all hidden motion sensors," explained architect Kernan.

"These were carefully placed in order for them not to be apparent and introduce curiosity," he told Dezeen.

The design includes both polished and weathered metal rods

The outer ring of reflective metal tubes were designed to act as a visual and acoustic barrier, encouraging visitors to investigate the structure.

The inner veil was made from weathered tubes as well as the exposed turning mechanisms responsible for the auditory element of the design.

"The mirror-polished columns and soffit heighten the space whilst also creating an element of play within themselves, as users intrigued by their distorted figures point and play with their reflections," explained architect Kernan.

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The resulting soundscape was designed to be reminiscent of the constant, rhythmic noises of striking, hammering and riveting that defined Belfast's Maritime Mile when shipbuilding was at its peak.

The installations' site, which housed a brass foundry and coal yard in the 18th and 19th centuries, was more recently occupied by an open grass amphitheater, which informed its current use.

"We chose to work with [the existing site] and created SoundYard as a performance space for people to gather within and around" added Kernan.

A reflective soffit and central oculus draw the eye up

The large-scale musical instrument stands near the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which is famed for the construction of the ocean liner Titanic, where the Titanic Belfast museum now stands.

Its construction was funded by the Titanic Foundation following a design competition in 2019 run by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects for emerging architects to create a structure that integrated the concept of play into Belfast's cityscape.

Architects Eunan Deeney, Matthew Kernan and Hannah Wilson are graduates of the University of Ulster, Queen's University Belfast and University of Westminster respectively.

Other musical installations recently featured on Dezeen include Sonic Bloom by Yuri Suzuki, The Soundwave by Penda and Lullaby Factory by Studio Weave.

The photography is byJoe Laverty.

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#pavilions #all #architecture #installations #belfast #northernireland #sound

Nifemi Marcus-Bello creates bamboo pavilion for Nigerian skateboarding brand

Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello has created a modular kiosk made from bamboo for Lagos-based skateboarding company Wafflesncream.

Called Waf Kiosk, the six-piece structure is currently located at the Wafflesncream (Waf) store in the Nigerian city, where it houses the brand's collection of skateboarding apparel.

Nifemi Marcus-Bello designed Waf Kiosk for a skateboarding clothing company

Marcus-Bello's design pays homage to Lagos' local streetwear sellers and the ways in which independent retailers have devised their own stores from which they sell.

"Leaning toward the evolution of the brand and its use of natural materials and tones, the idea was to design a space that would embrace a singular and humble material, in this case, bamboo," Marcus-Bello told Dezeen.

"While the kiosk is in use, clothes are hung above eye level to pay homage to 'Okrika' – Lagos' streetwear vendors who have created an architectural archetype to the selling of bootleg and secondhand clothing across Lagos," he added.

The modular pavilion can be arranged in different configurations

Waf Kiosk is built from tubular steel and bamboo – a sustainable plant that is known for its natural lightness and flexibility as well as its strength. The tubular steel was used to construct the frame of each modular structure, while the bamboo was used to wrap around the final design.

Marcus-Bello sourced the bamboo from Badagry, a coastal town that straddles the outskirts of Lagos and the northern bank of the creek stretching to Porto-Novo, in neighbouring Benin.

Marcus-Bello used bamboo for its lightweight qualities

The designer became interested in the material following a research trip to the Beninese captial where he saw that many shop and home frontages featured bamboo blinds called kosinlé.

He was particularly attracted to the "beautiful silhouette effects" the blinds had on the people behind them.

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"During a research trip to the Benin Republic, I was driving from the capital city Porto-Novo to Cotonou," Marcus-Bello explained.

"As we drove to the main road leading to Cotonou I noticed these locally made blinds used to cover the front of wooden kiosks that sold confectioneries and windows of the homeowners as well."

"I tracked down a local maker and bought two of the blinds and brought them to Lagos with me" he continued.

The kiosk can be carried to different locations in Lagos

The use of bamboo strips also means that the structure can easily be transported to different locations.

The six triangular structures can also be assembled into multiple variations, creating what Marcus-Bello calls "a variety of experiences" for shoppers.

Marcus-Bellow drew on Beninese blinds for the kiosk

"One thing that stood out to me in our conversation was the necessity for modularity for both form and functionality," the designer said.

"Using one, two or three pieces you can create different setups, which allows the brand to have two or three activations across the city during busy seasons."

"The final design is able to create a variety of setups allowing modularity in not just its form but its experience," he added.

The slatted bamboo is designed to create interesting silhouettes

Due to the bamboo's versatility, the material has been used to create pavilions all over the world.

Architecture studio Kengo Kuma and Associates built a pavilion with a textile roof supported by bamboo stalks at a temple in Kyoto, Japan, while artist Morag Myerscough installed a colourful bamboo structure in a park in London.

The photography is byJide Ayeni.

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#all #design #highlights #installations #retail #bamboo #pavilions #kiosks #nigeria #lagos #popupshops #shops #nifemimarcusbello

ASU students design and build Orange 1 breezy outdoor classroom

A group of students from Arizona State University has completed an outdoor classroom pavilion as part of a design-build studio programme.

The project was completed in the spring 2021 semester, as part of Arizona State University's (ASU) larger initiative to build outdoor classrooms to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The pavilion by ASU students is named Orange 1

The course, named Orange Build, is led by ASU teachers Felipe Mesa of Plan:b Arquitectos and Catherine Spellman.

"Orange Build Studio received the opportunity to design and oversee the construction of a shade structure and classroom located in the Polytechnic Campus, adjacent to a community garden and a small classroom building used by ASU Sustainable Practices," the team explained.

It has a square plan formed from nine equal modules

Since this is the group's first such structure, the pavilion is named Orange 1.

It has a square plan made of nine equal modules totalling 1,300 square feet (120 square metres).

ASU students designed and built the project

"In our Design-Build Studio, we understood improvisation as the erratic and collaborative process that a group of two professors, thirty-three students, and a diverse team of consultants carried out to make the Orange 1 project a reality," said the team.

"This small-format building, located on the university campus, will function as an outdoor classroom for educational and leisure activities during Covid-19 and beyond," they added

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Slatted steel fins make up the structure, which provides shade while still allowing plenty of air to flow through the structure and reduce the odds of disease transmission.

"The resulting project is a permeable building, resistant and adapted to the climatic conditions of the desert, and open to multiple uses," said the team.

Pyramidal roofs top the modules

Each of the modules measures 12 feet (3.6 metres) across and is topped with a pyramidal roof. These shapes accommodate industrial ceiling fans, which help keep the space cool in Arizona's desert climate.

"The project developed from a horizontal space into a space with rhythmic variations in height," the team explained.

The pavilion serves as an outdoor classroom, created in response to coronavirus restrictions

Beyond its role as an outdoor classroom during the pandemic, the team envisions the structure as a potential venue for events, photoshoots, weddings or other activities.

Other recently revealed pavilions around the world include this year's Serpentine Pavilion – a wooden chapel designed by Theaster Gates and Adjaye Associates for London.

In Canada, the annual Winter Stations competition just unveiled the finalists in its competition to design pavilions on the shores of Lake Ontario.

The photography is byMatt Winquist.

---

Project credits:

University: Arizona State University. Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The Design School.

Course: Design-Build Studio (Orange Build), ADE422/622

Professors: Felipe Mesa, Catherine Spellman

Project sponsor: Edmundo Soltero, ASU Assistant Vice President and Campus Architect

Structural engineering: David Grapsas

Electrical engineering: Affiliated Engineers

General contracting: CORE Construction

Architectural licensure: Michael Groves

Project management: ASU Facilities Development Management/Capital Programs Management Group

Students: Mhamad Ali Alaaeddine, Carlee Allen, Nicholas Becerra, Yasmin Ben Abdelkader, Rigoberto Berber-Arias, Ian Clouse, Tyree Dalgai, Alan Estrada, Cristina Garibay, Connor Glass, Rafael Gonzalez, Brandon Grenda, Jacob Jones, Ryan Mackay, Rita Momika, Joshua Odwyer, Justin Palmer, Solana Pearson, Alexis Santana, Annie Torgersen, Megan Van Horn, Mariel Vogliotti, Mckenzi Wilson, Yiming XU, Sarah Zagoury, Tirrel Dandrige, Christopher Fernandez, Tiffany Hartono, Smriti Jain, Vaishali Kalra, Yanela Nunez, Vishaka Tuljapurkar

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#pavilions #all #architecture #education #steel #arizona #deserts #studentprojects #coronavirus #planbarquitectos

Visitors wade through water in the Brazilian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020

Brazil's Expo 2020 pavilion in Dubai centres on the theme of water and its main exhibition floor can be flooded with a thin layer of water that visitors are meant to walk through.

Designed by architects MMBB Arquitetos, Ben-Avid, and JPG.ARQ, the pavilion is Brazil's contribution to the exhibition, which was originally slated to open in 2020 on the theme "Explore the World" but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The pavilion is based on the theme of water

The pavilion itself is made up of a white steel structure enclosed by fabric that serves as a backdrop for immersive video projections. Visitors enter into the expansive space through two triangular openings on either sides of the square structure.

The roof, meanwhile, has a funnel-like shape that is formed by tension cables. This echoes the shape of an impluvium – structures meant to collect rainwater and direct it to a specific location.

A white steel structure forms the pavilion's facade

"During the day, this structure shades and protects the waters; at dusk it makes of the pavilion a luminous, floating cube," the studios explained.

"Immersed in projections, sounds, vapors and subtle aromas, this space forms the essence of the proposed museographic experience, whose theme is the fluvial waters of Brazil."

The main exhibition floor is covered in an undulating, black concrete finish, within which a thin layer of water swirls around forming shallow, interconnected basins.

Guests wade through water

As part of the visitor experience, guests can don waterproof boots or walk barefoot through the space, which is also tuned to specific temperature and humidity levels that reflect the conditions of Brazil's ecosystems.

The pavilion's walls, meanwhile, are illuminated by video projections that evoke various Brazilian scenes that relate to water. When there are no projections, the water covering the floor takes on a reflective quality, mirroring the white steel structure and translucent walls.

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"We do not seek literally to recreate Brazilian landscapes in Dubai, with real fish or trees," the architects said.

"Rather, we hope to reinterpret a Brazilian way of thinking about the relationship between construction and landscape, creating synesthetic and immersive atmospheres, combining the stimuli of sounds, aromas, temperature and humidity, projected images on the lateral fabric walls and the internal, faceted faces of the roof, and the water surfaces on the floor."

Video projections illuminate the pavilion's walls

The pavilion also encompasses a small building off to one side, which provides space for smaller gatherings, conferences, or exhibitions that require conditioned environments.

Brazil's pavilion also hosts a cafe, restaurant and shop, located in a dry area next to the water.

The structure represents Brazil at Expo 2020 Dubai

Other pavilions on show at the Expo include the Singaporean Pavilion, designed by WOHA, which similarly recreates a tropical atmosphere using plant-covered cones and suspended walkways.

The nearby Grimshaw-designed Sustainability Pavilion, which is covered by a canopy of solar panels, has been criticised for its heavy carbon footprint.

The photography is byJon Wallis, unless otherwise indicated.

Expo 2020 Dubai is open to the public from 1 October to 31 March 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

---

Project credits:

Architectural offices: MMBB Arquitetos, Ben-Avid, JPG.ARQ

Architecture: José Paulo Gouvêa, Marta Moreira, Martin Benavidez, Milton Braga

Collaborators: Ana Carolina Isaía, Alen Gomez, Alfonsina Sassia, Clara Varandas, Constanza Villarreal, Emilia Darricades, Franco Fara, Felipe Suzuki Ursini, Gabriel Andreoli Hirata, Germán Ferradas, Ignacio Paez, Juan Pablo Parodi, Julieta Bertoni, Maria João Figueiredo, Mateo Arjona, Micaela Moreno, Murilo Romeu, Raphael Carneiro, Renan Ferreira, Seizen Uehara, Stefania Casarin, Tomas Milan, Tomás Quaglia Martínez, Victor Oliveira

Exhibition original concept: Guilherme Wisnik, Alexandre Benoit

Engineering: Maratá Engenharia (Miguel Maratá, Ana Martinho, Elis Silva, Gabriela Trevizan, Isabela Abrão, Naira Costa), Afaconsult (Rui Furtado, Carlos Almeida, Gustavo Alves, Marco Carvalho, Paulo Silva, Raul Serafim, Maria Rui Castanhola)

Tensile structure competition consultancy: Rui Pauletti

Architect of record: MJU Engineering Consultancy (Muwafak Al Juboory, Mohamed Walid Abdalla Elhabshy, Hani I. M. Abdalmenem, Nazeer Ahmed Khan, Mohsin Iqbal, Alnilmar Paul Rodriguez, Mohamed Salah Ahmed Elsheikh, Mohamad El Moghrabi, Binu Bhaskar)

Video mapping concept: Cactus (Lucas Werthein, Marcelo Pontes, Noah Waxman, Felipe Reif)

Signage: CLDT Design (Celso Longo, Daniel Trench, Alexandre Mendes)

Acoustics: Inacoustics (Octávio Inácio)

Sound design original concept: Nico Espinoza

Legal and financial advisor: Beatriz Lichtenstein

Client: Apex-Brasil – Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency

General contractor: Pico Middle East

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#pavilions #all #architecture #concrete #brazil #water #expo2020dubai

Prefabricated bamboo community centre in Pakistan built by local people

Decorative bamboo screens enclose the Zero Carbon Cultural Centre, a giant pavilion in Makli built by local people together with architect Yasmeen Lari's Heritage Foundation of Pakistan organisation.

The Zero Carbon Cultural Centre serves as a community centre and social space for people living in poor and marginalised communities in the town, which is located in southern Pakistan.

It was designed by the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan specifically to host hands-on workshops for locals to strengthen their skills and help them live better-quality lives.

The Zero Carbon Cultural Centre is a bamboo pavilion in Makli

The Zero Carbon Cultural Centre is being showcased today as part of Lari's guest editorship for Dezeen 15 – an online festival celebrating Dezeen's fifteenth birthday.

As part of the event, Lari, who is the co-founder of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, will present her manifesto for "a humanistic, inclusive architecture that is driven by environmental considerations" in a live interview with Dezeen's editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

According to the architect, the centre is the biggest bamboo structure in Pakistan and one of the largest in the world.

It was completed in 2017 on a 1.6-hectare site, chosen for its proximity to the poor communities in the shadow of the Makli Necropolis – a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to clusters of ancient funerary monuments.

It is the centrepiece of a 1.6-hectare campus

The pavilion takes the form of a large hangar, topped by a large thatched roof and surrounded by decorative bamboo screens. It measures 27 metres in length and is 18 metres wide, and at its highest point it reaches 11 metres.

Its design was developed by ​​the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan to embody Lari's philosophy of "barefoot social architecture" (BASA).

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The goal of BASA is to uplift impoverished communities without impacting the planet. This involves creating structures with local materials that are low-carbon and low-cost, as opposed to expensive materials such as concrete and steel.

In this case, the pavilion makes use of bamboo, a type of fast-growing grass, which was sourced from within southern Pakistan.

It was constructed by local people

Bamboo was chosen as it is both renewable and highly durable. It also allowed the organisation to work with local artisans who are adept at using the material, and local people who wanted to learn how to build with it.

The pavilion is composed of large prefabricated bamboo panels, measuring eight metres in height and 1.5 metres in width.

Prefabrication ensured a quick construction process and optimum quality control, as each panel was made under supervision in a workshop. It was complete in just 10 weeks.

"The resulting structure carried the sweat and pride of the local surrounding community and has become a source of great pride due to its size and unique characteristics," Lari told Dezeen.

The centre hosts workshops for poor communities nearby

The final open structure of the pavilion, combined with its thatched roof, ensures that the space remains cool and usable throughout hot summers without air conditioning.

Its open layout also caters for a variety of uses. In line with the objectives of BASA, it is used to teach local people how to make a variety of products with local materials, including terracotta tiles, smokeless stoves from mud and lime and compostable toilets.

Alongside workshops, it is also used for performances, lectures and conferences.

It also hosts conferences

Since the pavilion's completion, the site has been expanded and developed into a campus with other facilities including accommodation for visitors and a series of igloo-like structures that are used as additional workshop spaces.

Lari was the first woman to qualify as an architect in Pakistan. She ran her own studio until the year 2000 when she closed it to focus on socially conscious architecture.

She is one of 15 creatives presenting a manifesto for a better world at the Dezeen 15 digital festival. Others participating include Winy Maas, Es Devlin and Neri Oxman. Read Lari's manifesto here and see details of all the participants here.

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#pavilions #all #architecture #bamboo #communitycentres #yasmeenlari #pakistan

The Living creates "probiotic" architectural pavilion that supports living microbes

New York studio The Living developed a pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale to demonstrate how organic materials with microbial properties could be used in architecture to help create healthier environments for humans.

The Living was invited by Biennale curator Hashim Sarkis to create the Alive pavilion for an exhibit titled Among Diverse Beings, which is presented at the city's Arsenale venue. The installation has been shortlisted in the small building category of Dezeen Awards 2021.

The Living constructed the pavilion using microbial materials

The pavilion represents an evolution of ongoing research by The Living, which has worked with biologists and academics to explore the potential of multi-species architecture and how best to harness the microbes that surround us all the time.

According to The Living founder and principal David Benjamin, advances in biological technologies such as bio-computing, bio-sensing and bio-fabricating offer new opportunities for using living organisms in architecture.

The Alive pavilion displayed at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale

The exhibition at the Arsenale examines the potential for creating an "urban microbiome" that would see cities evolve to become more healthy and sustainable by employing bio-receptive materials in their construction.

"As a society, we are increasingly aware of how a good gut microbiome promotes individual health," Benjamin told Dezeen, "and in a similar way, it is now clear that a good urban microbiome promotes public health."

"This means that instead of creating architecture and spaces that are sterile and antibiotic, we should develop environments that are alive and probiotic."

The structure was built as part of The Living's ongoing research project into biomaterials

Bio-receptive materials trap and host microorganisms in surfaces containing pockets with different temperatures, moisture levels, air flow and nutrients. These organic, living materials support colonies of microbes that in turn promote the health of people in their vicinity.

The Alive installation is made from dried fibres of luffa – an inexpensive, renewable and fast-growing vegetable that grows on vines in tropical and subtropical regions.

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Luffa's fibrous surfaces form a strong and organic material that is ideally suited to hosting diverse microbes and could be easily adapted to form panelling products or partitions for use in architectural projects.

"The project is a prototype for architecture of the future, but at the same time it is relevant to current buildings," Benjamin suggested.

"[Luffa] can be easily adapted into many environments like today's offices and restaurants, with partition walls and acoustic tiled ceilings, or tomorrow’s buildings with microbial facades that remove pathogens from the air."

The material can be used across different architectural interventions

The pavilion's design promotes the architectural possibilities of luffa and other probiotic materials while also creating spaces that allow different levels of light and air flow.

Following the conclusion of the Biennale in November 2021, the prototype will be deconstructed and used for several ongoing experiments. One section will be returned to New York City and analysed to assess how microbes grow in different conditions.

The pavilion was made using luffa fibres

Researchers and previous collaborators Kevin Slavin and Elizabeth Henaff will use a DNA sequencer to determine what species of bacteria lived in the material.

Comparing this DNA with samples from other materials and locations will allow the project to feed into early studies about the biomes of various buildings and cities.

The pavilion was formed from a flat sheet of material

The Living's previous projects include a temporary pavilion made entirely from bricks grown using organic materials that was installed at the MoMA PS1 gallery in 2014.

Other projects shortlisted in the small building category of Dezeen Awards 2021 include a writer's cabin fitted with a wavy bookshelf by Mudd Architects.

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#pavilions #all #architecture #theliving #venicearchitecturebiennale #biomaterials #dezeenawards2021

Verstas Architects evokes island landscapes with Helsinki Biennial Pavilion

Finnish practice Verstas Architects has created a circular timber pavilion at Helsinki's South Harbour, forging a connection between the city and the nearby island of Vallisaari.

Verstas Architects built the pavilion to serve as an entry point to the Helsinki Biennial art festival, which was held on Vallisaari island from June to September 2021, and it has now become a permanent addition to the city.

The Helsinki Biennial Pavilion is a circular timber structure located at the city's South Harbour

Tickets for the Biennial are sold from the pavilion, which sits at Lyypekinlaituri, South Harbour, and the ferry to the island of Vallisaari departs from an adjoining pier.

The pavilion's shape and materiality reference the natural landscape of Vallisaari as well as the sea between it and Helsinki.

The pavilion is made of timber and was assembled in situ from prefabricated modules

The circular shape is a nod to Vallisaari's ponds and "giant's kettles" pothole formations, while the timber walls are meant to recall the island's cliffs as well as the hulls of old wooden ships, some of which can be seen moored at South Harbour.

The pavilion features an inner courtyard paved with what looks from a distance like stone but, on closer inspection, prove to be crosscut logs.

The pavilion's inner courtyard is paved with silver-hued crosscut logs

"The curved shape echoes the island cliffs that were rounded during the ice age," Verstas Architects partner Ilkka Salminen told Dezeen.

"The centre yard is paved with greyed crosscut logs and white quartz sand that mimic the effect of raindrops rippling on water."

The pavilion's roof slopes down to the ground, providing a deck for visitors to climb

Around it is a partially enclosed space with curved dark pine walls that slope down in one section to form an outer deck that visitors can climb.

"The centre of the pavilion is where you can rest and take a break from the noisy and constantly moving city," added Salminen.

"You are closed off from the city life and you experience only the sea and the sky, enclosed by a huge wooden surface to lean your back on."

The exterior of the pavilion is clad with pine battens that are stained dark with a mix of tar and linseed oil

The pavilion is made from prefabricated modules constructed from glue-laminated timber frames, with steel ties and laminated veneer lumber cladding.

These are clad in fine-sawn pine battens that have been steam-bent into curving shapes and stained dark with a mix of tar and linseed oil.

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Inside, the natural light wood colour is maintained with an oil treatment, and a series of triangular frames at different angles form a curved corridor with a pitched roof.

Verstas Architects chose to build with wood because, as well as being the traditional material for buildings and boats in the area, it is environmentally sustainable and long-lasting in the northern climate.

Visitors can take shelter, rest and wait for ferries inside the pavilion

The modules were built in a carpenter's workshop in a nearby harbour town where the fabrication process was guided by a digital 3D building model, before being shipped to the site for installation.

The interior of the pavilion contains a ticket sales and visitor information desk, while a simple rectangular volume next to it houses ancillary spaces.

The open-air courtyard provides a place for gathering and reflection

The Helsinki Biennial Pavilion was commissioned by the City of Helsinki's Urban Environment Division as part of a strategy to make the city's archipelago more accessible.

Spanning 187 square metres, the pavilion provides a visible anchor for the Biennial in the city.

The wooden exterior of the pavilion resembles the hull of an old ship

Although the original intention was to dismantle the pavilion in between Biennials and store the modules at Vallisaari, the City of Helsinki and Verstas Architects have decided to leave it at South Harbour for the foreseeable future.

"It was quickly realised that the pavilion has a much bigger role to play if left to stand in place all year round," said Verstas Architects.

[

Read:

Helsinki calls for proposals to transform Makasiiniranta port into cultural precinct

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/05/12/helsinki-makasiiniranta-port-cultural-precinct-news/)

"It provides a place for people to hang out by the sea," the studio added.

"One can rest on the sloping auditorium-like space observing the colourful marketplace or seek shelter under the tent-like roof."

The pavilion was built for the Helsinki Biennial art festival but will remain in place year-round

The pavilion is located near the forthcoming Makasiiniranta port development at South Harbour, which will include a new architecture and design museum.

It was also the site of the scrapped proposal for a Guggenheim museum, with the City of Helsinki deciding to instead support a local institution for the site.

Verstas Architects was founded in 2004 by Salminen with Väinö Nikkilä, Jussi Palva and Riina Palva. The practice has recently been nominated for the Finnish Wood Award and EU Mies Award for the Helsinki Biennial Pavilion.

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Antepavilion building "smashed up" and staff arrested in police raid on Extinction Rebellion workshops

Police have raided the building that hosts the annual Antepavilion architecture commission, arrested a number of its staff and threatened to remove an installation on its roof.

The raid was intended to target climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, whose members had been attending workshops at the Hoxton Docks arts building in east London.

However, Dezeen understands that all the people arrested during yesterday's raid were employees or residents of Hoxton Docks.

Above: police have raided the building that hosts the Antepavilion. Top image: an installation on its roof is at risk of removal

"I spent the night in jail," he said Russell Gray, owner of the canalside building. "They smashed their way in through various doors and smashed the place up."

Gray was arrested when he arrived at the building during the raid following a call from his son, who was also arrested along with a tenant of the building.

They were released the next day but Gray said police told him they would return to dismantle the rooftop structure. "They're saying they're gonna come and take it down," he told Dezeen.

The structure, called All Along the Watchtower, is a reusable, lightweight "tensegrity" structure made of bamboo poles and steel cables designed by a collective called Project Bunny Rabbit.

The group developed the towers for Extinction Rebellion, which used them to block access to Broxbourne printworks in Hertfordshire last year. Protesters erected the "beacons" and then climbed into them.

The structure is based on protest "beacons" used by Extinction Rebellion

Consisting of several linked tensegrity towers, the Hoxton Docks structure had been completed earlier this week by volunteers attending workshops at the canalside arts building.

The workshops were organised in collaboration with Extinction Rebellion. "People could be taught how to make the components and how to assemble the structures," Gray explained.

"They got a lot of volunteers. Obviously, climate change mobilizes people like few other things."

However, Gray told Dezeen that the rooftop structure was unrelated to Extinction Rebellion's activities.

"We support is the erection of the structure, the workshop, training people to do construction and craftsmanship," he said. "It doesn't extend to any endorsement of Extinction Rebellion, on whom I'm neutral at best."

"We are an architecture prize," he added. "We weren't prepared to become a propaganda tool for these Extinction Rebellion people."

Work on the structure had just been completed when the police raided Hoxton Docks

Police raided the building after receiving intelligence that the protest group planned to use tensegrity structures again this weekend, according to the Guardian.

Police told the newspaper they had "taken proactive action to prevent and reduce criminal disruption which we believe was intended for direction at media business locations over the weekend”.

But Extinction Rebellion said: "As far as we are aware, those arrested have no connection to the protest last September or to Extinction Rebellion."

In September, seventy activists were arrested at Broxbourne, a town north of London, after erecting and climbing into the tensegrity structures.

They were protesting against media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose newspapers are among those printed at the plant.

Tensegrity structures consist of separate structural elements held in place by tension

At the time, Extinction Rebellion said the protest aimed "to expose the failure of these corporations to accurately report on the climate and ecological emergency, and their consistent manipulation of the truth to suit their own personal and political agendas."

This year's Antepavilion competition called for temporary or mobile structures that would not fall foul of planning rules. This follows an ongoing battle between Gray and Hackney Council, which served an injunction on last year's floating sharks installation.

"Tensegrity was an experimental construction method was much explored in the 1960s and 1970s," he explained.

"They just make striking structures because they're lightweight. They're open. They're basically a bunch of steel tension wires. It seemed like an ideal thing to do."

Diagram of the tensegrity structure

The Extinction Rebellion protest structures were praised by Dezeen columnist Phineas Harper, who last year said they were "worthy contenders for the Stirling Prize."

"Architecture rarely makes the headlines, yet all of a sudden these two structures were splashed across frontpages at the centre of a national debate – put there not by starchitects but by environmentalists," he wrote.

"The towers were innovative, eye-catching, ecologically sound and socially purposeful – a combination contemporary practice rarely achieves. They are the most gutsy architecture of the year."

"Why are the police confiscating an art installation?" said Alanna Byrne of Extinction Rebellion in response to the raid.

"Under what powers are they arresting employees of an art space and people who live in the building? "This is a vast overreach of police powers, a major infringement on the lives of those arrested, and suppression of freedom of expression."

Police raided the building after hearing that Extinction Rebellion were planning more protests using tensegrity "beacons"

"Would this be happening if Extinction Rebellion wasn’t holding Rupert Murdoch and the rest of the billionaire owned press to account?"

The structure was erected as a "special early summer commission" ahead of the winner of this year's Antepavilion competition.

The winner, AnteChamber by Studio Nima Sardar, will be built later this year.

The photographs are by Russell Gray and the renderings are courtesy ofAntepavilion.

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Canada blurs fact and fiction with green screen-wrapped Venice Architecture Biennale pavilion

Montréal studio TBA has wrapped the Canadian pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in a green screen so that it can be replaced digitally with other buildings.

Called Impostor Cities, the pavilion was designed to be a comment on architectural authenticity focusing on the way Canadian cities are often used to portray other places in films.

"The Pavilion celebrates the protean Canadian cities and buildings that pose as cinematic doubles," said the pavilion's design team.

"Challenging visitors to think about architectural authenticity, the onsite and the onscreen, at a moment when the blurring of fact and fiction takes on an important significance."

TBA wrapped the Canadian pavilion in green sheeting

TBA and curator David Theodore aimed to drastically alter the appearance of the Canadian pavilion, which was designed by Italian studio BBPR in 1958 and was recently renovated.

It has been largely wrapped in green sheeting to give the building a dramatic impact.

The green mesh has a construction site aesthetic

"Dramatic is the right word, but also theatrical, mischievous, and cinematic," the design team told Dezeen.

"Wrapping the structure in a green mesh fabric highlights its quirky spiralling profile," they continued.

"The wrap changes the pavilion into an icon visible across the Giardini, in bold contrast to our neighbours, the staid British, German, and French pavilions. Even at a distance visitors will instantly identify our theme of architecture and cinema."

The green wrap disguises the building

The green mesh disguises the building and gives the impression that the pavilion's renovations are still underway.

"It's about architectural identity and faking it," they continued.

"We hope visitors think that the pavilion is under renovation again and that then they discover they can digitally erase and replace the pavilion with Canadian impostor buildings."

The wrap also allows the building to be used as a digital green screen.

Using an Instagram filter called Svela-Finzione, which translates into English as "reveal the fake", visitors can replace the pavilion with a building in Canada.

"If you're standing there, you see a green-wrapped building," said the tam.

"If you look through your camera, you see buildings from Canada digitally inserted in the place of the Pavilion. The wrap flips the script, making movies double as architecture."

An Instagram filter can be used to replace the pavilion with Canadian buildings

Within the pavilion is an exhibition that aims to highlight when Canadian buildings and cities have been used to represent other places in the world.

"The exhibition shows visitors that the fictional worlds they see onscreen are likely to be Canadian cities," said the team.

And it challenges them to reimagine what it means to experience architecture. The cities we inhabit together onscreen are meaningful and valuable ways to live together in a changing world."

Germany's 2038 pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale also utilised digital technology with QR codes placed on the walls of the empty building. Scanning the codes allowed visitors to watch movies explore the world in 2038.

We rounded up 10 of the best pavilions from the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale that respond to this year's theme of How will we live together?

The photography is courtesy of Impostor Cities.

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Serpentine Pavilion's use of biomaterials "more than compensates" for concrete emissions, says Aecom

The construction of this year's Serpentine Pavilion removed 31 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, according to a report by construction consultant AECOM.

As a result, the structure can claim to be carbon negative, meaning that it will remove more CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere than it emits, up to the point it is dismantled.

"The total cradle to grave embodied carbon emissions of the pavilion are -31,000 kg of CO2 equivalent," the report states.

The Serpentine Pavilion 2021 opened to the public last week

However, the assessment did not take into account the carbon emissions that will be generated when the pavilion is moved to a new location at the end of the summer.

This will require the construction of new foundations but since the location is unknown, AECOM said it has been unable to calculate the carbon impact.

Negative carbon "a surprise"

"There are a number of options available, all of which have a substantially lower environmental impact than the concrete used at Kensington Gardens," AECOM said.

"The initial assessment of these options has shown that a net-carbon negative or, at worst, a carbon-neutral build can be targeted in a whole life cycle assessment of the relocated pavilion."

"These options will form part of the handover documentation to the new owners," AECOM added.

The construction team said it didn't expect to achieve negative carbon with the project.

"The goal here was to do a low-carbon building," said David Glover, technical adviser to the Serpentine Galleries, which commissioned the structure.

"It wasn't necessarily to get to negative [carbon] but this particular architecture lent itself to it and it gave us this result, which was a surprise because I don't think any of us thought we would get to a negative situation this year."

The pavilion was designed by Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace

The temporary structure, which opened in Kensington Gardens in London last week, emits approximately 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and absorbs around 91 tonnes via the timber and other biomaterials used in its construction, according to the life cycle assessment (LCA) prepared by AECOM.

The assessment was made prior to construction using eToolLCD LCA software, which takes into account whole-life emissions including transportation and decommissioning of the structure.

Pavilion criticised for its concrete foundation

AECOM, a multinational engineer and construction consultant, has worked on the pavilion each year since 2013, when it was designed by Sou Fujimoto.

AECOM's embodied carbon assessment is an internal document that has not yet been signed off for public release.

But the firm shared the document with Dezeen following media criticism of the structure's concrete foundation and scepticism about claims that the pavilion is carbon negative.

Although it looks solid, the pavilion is mostly hollow

For a building to be carbon negative, it needs to sequester more atmospheric carbon over its entire lifecycle than it emits.

AECOM's 10-page document states that the pavilion's concrete foundation emits 44 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, making up by far the largest percentage of emissions.

The remaining 16 tonnes of emissions come from roofing materials including steel purlins, polycarbonate and a waterproof membrane, concrete blockwork, micro cement finish and paint, as well as materials used to build the pathways.

Timber and cork "more than compensates" for other emissions

In addition, the assessment calculates that 1,400 kg of carbon emissions resulted from the recycled steel structure, although this figure would have been far higher if virgin steel had been used.

However, all these emissions are outweighed by carbon sequestered in the wood, plywood and cork used to build the pavilion, according to AECOM.

"The sequestration of the timber and the cork more than compensates for the emissions," said AECOM sustainability director David Cheshire.

The superstructure of the pavilion is made from wood, plywood and cork

The pavilion, the twentieth in the annual architecture commission, was designed by Johannesburg architect Counterspace. Construction was postponed from last year due to the pandemic.

Counterspace initially proposed using recycled materials including K-Briqs, which are bricks made from construction waste.

The architect worked with AECOM and Glover to refine the initial design, re-engineering the solid-looking building into a lightweight, hollow structure that uses the fewest materials possible.

K-Briqs "a step too far"

"We did this life cycle assessment from the outset," said AECOM project director Jon Leach. "The aim was to really try and reduce the environmental impact of the pavilion as far as we could. But obviously, that's not the only thing that drives the pavilion design."

However, K-Briqs "proved a step too far in terms of the procuring time and the long-term durability of the product," said Leach.

The team explored a range of innovative sustainable materials including using mycelium for the cladding and zero-carbon concrete for the foundation.

The biomaterials used on the structure are supported by a recycled steel frame

However, the former was rejected due to concerns over its long-term durability and the latter due to its longer curing time compared to traditional concrete.

"The programme is so tight," said Leach. "You literally have to lay out and start working on it straight away. That was a reason why the concrete impact is higher than obviously we'd ideally like."

Carbon emissions reduced significantly by using recycled steel

The team managed to reduce the carbon footprint of the foundation by replacing 30 per cent of its volume with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS).

GGBS, a by-product of the iron-smelting industry, produces just 10 per cent of the emissions generated by Portland cement, the binding ingredient in concrete that emits vast amounts of carbon when it is made.

"We've maximised the cement replacements as far as we can," said Leach.

The pavilion has been criticised in the media for its concrete foundation

Using recycled steel tubes for the structure saved up to 97 per cent of the carbon emissions that virgin steel would have created, according to data provided by Cleveland Steel.

The methodology used by the team discounts emissions generated by previous uses of materials such as recycled steel. Those historic emissions don't count because that's already been counted on the previous project," Cheshire said.

The pavilion's hollow superstructure is made of plywood and corkboard, both of which were sustainably sourced, according to the team. The roof structure is made of timber.

Pavilion expected to last 60 years

Even though the pavilion will be dismantled at the end of the summer, the assessment assumes the pavilion will have a service life of 60 years.

"The design life is equivalent to a normal building site," Cheshire said.

"We've been very careful in the way we designed it to ensure that it can be reused and it does have an extended life way beyond the five or six months it will be at Kensington Gardens."

For the third year in a row, the pavilion has been bought by wellbeing resort brand Therme Group and will be moved to an as-yet-unknown location later this year.

"We have talked with them and made sure that they understand that this is how you've got to handle the building and make sure we're not throwing away the sequestered carbon," said Glover. "And lucky enough, they've got a very strong environmental policy as well."

Photography is by Iwan Baan.

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Carbon revolution

This article is part of Dezeen'scarbon revolution series, which explores how this miracle material could be removed from the atmosphere and put to use on earth. Read all the content at: www.dezeen.com/carbon.

The sky photograph used in the carbon revolution graphic is byTaylor van Riper via Unsplash.

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