The Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris recently announced Los Angeles based, Ball Nogues Studio as the winner of the 2012 edition of the “Pavilion Spéciale” competition in Paris, France. The Pavilion Spéciale is an installation that can be arched and curled at full scale with a small crane to form different types of space for the site. The installation will create a sense of place while providing a respite from the sun and rain. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The Pavilion is a unique structure. In architecture terminology, the phrase that describes a system whose form is derived from the deformation of its materials under force is “form active.” This type of structure is difficult to study using software. It often requires architects to explore their designs by testing full-scale mock-ups, and using that empirical information to help inform the process of digital modeling, which is studied in the studio rather than in the field. Students will engage in this iterative design process with Ball Nogues.
The structure is comprised of approximately 200 “cells”, each made from locally sourced plastic tubing that will be bent and curled in custom jigs designed and constructed by students. To provide shade, each cell will have a locally sourced sheet material spanning between the tubes within it. The cell module is a very effective way of constructing a temporary structure: each can be transported as a flat unit and rapidly assembled on site; when it is time for the structure to come down, dismantling and transportation to a new site is easy.
