P—021—BFS
Between Forests and Skies
Reference
P—021—BFS
Project
Temporary Pavilion
Location
London, UK
Client
Victoria and Albert Museum
Consultants
Engineering — Format Engineers / Fabrication — Littlehampton Welding
Design Team
Brando Posocco, Madhav Kidao
Status
Completed
Introduction
We were commissioned by the V&A to design an immersive, low carbon aluminum pavilion in the John Madejski Garden.
The design uses a minimal volume of material to create a seemingly delicate yet robust structure to demonstrate the unique qualities of aluminum. The structure is self-supporting, utilising the innate strength of the aluminum despite its razor thin profile.
The space formed is a manufactured forest, an unnatural imitation of our natural environment. The reflectivity of the aluminium is mirrored in the reflectivity of the water. The experience of the pavilion is a dreamlike state between the sky and the reflection of the sky; the world and the reflection of the world. It shifts and changes throughout the day as the environment and activities that are reflected around it change.
Working with plate material and through minimal cuts and bends, the design transforms a 2D object into an articulated 3D space. The innate strength of the material coupled with algorithmically solved leg positions allowed for a self supporting structure that lands onto the ground with as minimal impact as possible. It is formally a pure product and representation of its fabrication and structural system.
The project has been tracked from its extraction to production to fabrication and installation. The pavilion has now been fully recycled, a portion of the material has gone into the production of Bardo - our piece for the 2023 Venice Biennale. The rest has been melted down to be reused as variety of everyday applications.
Photography — Ed Reeve, James Retief, Nebbia / Video — Light Space Color, Liam Martin, Green.tv