AA Pavilion
2008-04-13
(The 10m shell is made from thin fibre reinforced concrete elements)
AA pavilion marks 10 years of design research lab
11 April, 2008
Alumni of the Architectural Association have completed an innovative pavilion designed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the school's design research lab.
The competition-winning scheme, which sits outside the AA's Bedford Square premises, was designed by 2002 graduate Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang of the class of 2004. It was developed in collaboration with Adams Kara Taylor, and was selected ahead of 26 other graduate entries.
School director Brett Steele said the brief called for a scheme that used concrete panels by project sponsor Reider & Co, in a way that both the manufacturer and designers could learn from.
“It's a huge one-to-one experiment to help realise architectural ideas,” he said.
Steele added that after a lull in the nineties, when computer modelling dominated student design processes, full scale physical modelling was making a comeback. “Working at a scale of one-to-one is the only way to really understand ideas successfully.”
The pavilion is formed by a shell structure spanning over 10m, made of thin fibre reinforced concrete elements - normally used as cladding - which perform as structure and skin, floor, walls and furniture.
It is comprised of over 850 bespoke profiles and 2,000 joints, with each of the elements manufactured from digital models and computer controlled cutting equipment.