Expandable Surface Pavilion

The project was created for the recent SPOGA furniture design exhibition in Cologne, Germany and is part of an ongoing research into Expandable Surface Systems, which began in collaboration with theEmergent Technologies and Design Programme at the Architectural Association. The project was designed, fabricated and mounted by the designers.

The design manifested into an exhibition and meeting room pavilion that explores complex geometries generated by simple cut patterning in sheets.

To realize the built structure, the team underwent extensive structural and geometric digital analysis to understand and anticipate the reaction between the material and pattern. A system of mathematical relationships were derived to control found material properties digitally. This iterative process was then scrutinized and revised by findings resulted from structural analysis. The ability to understand material properties from the standpoint of geometry lead to the success of the project.  It was a great lesson for the designers to learn from the material – this feedback was the guiding factor in the design process.

The success of the design was contingent on questions of fabrication, minimal waste, and deployabilit. The fabrication process is down to less than 2 percent waste. The system logic and geometric design is embedded in the material directly, rendering no need for excessive explanation to a contractor.

Location: Cologne, Germany
Client: RESOL
Project Year: 2011
Size: 16M2
Design Team: Pablo Zamorano, Nacho Martí, Jacob Bek.