Project: Pentaura Pavilion
Architecture: Bigas Studio
Location: Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain (ES)
Year: 2023
Program: Pavilion
Surface: 85 m²
Status: Built
Prize: IASS Tsuboi Award 2024
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Drawn from the technique of origami, together with the aware observation of the pleated skin of seashells and leaves, the Pentaura Pavilion is a shelter which utilises form in order to save material. Installed on the playground of the primary school Escola Turó de Can Mates, the shell is designed as a large-span umbrella, with the main purpose of providing shadow and a space-enclosing envelope where to gather and develop the collective activities organised by the educational institution. The wooden pavilion is planned entirely in a high-automated digital process, and consists of a single-layer construction system, with 306 timber boards made out of birch plywood with a thickness of 15 mm, assembled according to the folding technique.
The computational framework enables an iterative process with flexible tools to assume the form-finding of different topological shapes, folded and discretized from funicular shells, with a structurally-informed design, and operating at the same time the distribution of timber boards to manufacture. Their inherent composition of discrete planar elements allows a high degree of pre-fabrication, offering the possibility to benefit from one of the most advanced sectors in the industry, thereby attaining a responsible material consumption while minimizing the ecological footprint.
Over the past two decades, the rise of computer-aided design and modeling techniques has ushered a new language for double-curved surfaces in architecture. Timber folded structures, also referred to as “corrugated shells”, consist of a large number of discrete, thin planar elements, mutually connected to create an overarching pleated surface, which harnesses the potential of the folding principle with regard to material saving and structural efficiency. The ancient technique achieves geometrical complexity through the simplicity of its elements, responding both to engineering and architectural requirements. Folds not only introduce strength, but also contribute to the perceptual deepness, emphasizing the spatial flexibility through the dance of lights and shadows along the corrugated facets.
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Project: Pentaura Pavilion
Architecture: Bigas Studio
Location: Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain (ES)
Year: 2023
Program: Pavilion
Surface: 85 m²
Status: Built
.
.
Over the past two decades, the rise of computer-aided design and modeling techniques has ushered a new language for double-curved surfaces in architecture, with engineering concepts becoming principles for organizing form, material and structure. Timber folded structures, also referred to as “corrugated shells”, consist of a large number of discrete, thin planar elements, mutually connected to create an overarching pleated surface, which harnesses the potential of the folding principle with regard to material saving and structural efficiency. The ancient technique achieves geometrical complexity through the simplicity of its elements, responding both to engineering and architectural requirements. Folds not only introduce strength, but also contribute to the perceptual deepness, emphasizing the spatial flexibility through the dance of lights and shadows along the corrugated facets.
Drawn from the technique of origami, together with the aware observation of the pleated skin of seashells and leaves, the Pentaura Pavilion is a shelter which utilises form in order to save material. Installed on the playground of the primary school Escola Turó de Can Mates, and built in an academic framework during the Master of Parametric Design in Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC), it covers a floor area of approximately 85 m². The shell is designed as a large-span umbrella, with the main purpose of providing shadow and a space-enclosing envelope where to gather and develop the collective activities organised by the educational institution. The wooden pavilion is planned entirely in a high-automated digital process, and consists of a single-layer construction system, with 306 timber boards made out of birch plywood with a thickness of 15 mm, assembled according to the folding technique.
The computational framework enables an iterative process with flexible tools to assume the form-finding of different topological shapes, folded and discretized from funicular shells, with a structurally-informed design, and operating at the same time the distribution of timber boards to manufacture. Their inherent composition of discrete planar elements allows a high degree of pre-fabrication, offering the possibility to benefit from one of the most advanced sectors in the industry, thereby attaining a responsible material consumption while minimizing the ecological footprint.
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