The Art Fund Pavilion competition offers a unique opportunity to push the limits of material experimentation through the fabrication process. Our proposal capitalizes on the fabrication technology and material offered by Facit in order to create a proposal that transforms the conventional use of the material. Our objective is in maximizing the potential of this technology as a topographic and structural element with the primary intention of creating a spatial presence that transcends the material and construction process.
In designing the scheme, we considered the way plywood has been traditionally used as a building material, which has most often been in its natural sheet form. Recognizing its potential as a frame material, particularly when utilizing the depth of a framework (much like truss), we have proposed a scheme that challenges the convention. The proposal makes use of a frame system more often reserved for metals; in this case, however, the use of CNC technology to cut the shapes out of plywood dramatically increases the range of possibilities that can be achieved.
The scheme proposes utilizing the CNC technology to create slight variation from one module to another. This variability allows the design of the pavilion to effectively catalog the extreme structural and geometric conditions that can be achieved by the material. These extremities achieve several programmatic objectives. Beginning at the entry; the structure provides a cantilevering canopy that seems to hover over the courtyard. It then seamlessly folds down to create a wall that allows for art display. The form then opens up to allow for circulation to pass through and curls back up to form the support for the cantilever. The structure does not resolve itself to a conventional system of walls, roof, and support but it asks the modules to perform multiple functions.
More importantly than the technical characteristics of the scheme is the ability of those characteristics to provide different spatial and experiential conditions. Ultimately, the scheme is aimed at reorienting technological advancement toward a spatial and programmatic outcome – one that is most effective, not for its technical achievement, but rather for the unexpected and unconventional experience that it produces.
