Good weather in London encourages more and more passers-by to stop and enjoy the DRL Ten Pavilion. Already an attention-grabber since it was completed in mid-March, it has become a much sought-after spot for a pause on Bedford Square.
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The DRL Ten pavilion was once again under the spotlight today at the Architectural Association (AA), on the occasion of a roundtable discussion. The event brought together the project team to share their experiences designing, engineering, fabricating, and building the pavilion.
It was remarked early on that this was the first time that representatives of all the task teams came together around the same table — a sign of the vicissitudes imposed on this initiative by budget struggles, a tight deadline, and a dependence on voluntary work by participants with other obligations. The pavilion was an initiative of the tutors of the Design Research Laboratory, a graduate program within the AA, and counted on the support and commitment of a large group of people.
AA director Brett Steele opened the session explaining the significance of this built experiment and learning experience for the AA school and the DRL in particular. DRL tutor and project coordinator Yusuke Obuchi then gave background information, first about the competition that led to the chosen design, then about the construction process and some of the complications it brought about. Pavilion designer Alan Dempsey followed with a commentary of the design development — particularly the time constraint which limited the refinement of the design. Head engineer Hanif Kara of Adams Kara Taylor placed the pavilion at the focus of his plea to bring architectural education and construction education together. He was followed by Reuben Brambleby and Jugatx Ansotegui (both AKT engineers), who gave accounts of the calculations, testing, and detailing carried out to develop the design. Wolfgang Rieder, owner of the company that manufactured the primary building material (fibreC) presented some of their recent work and current capabilities; he also manifested his enthusiasm for new initiatives such as the DRL Ten Pavilion. Next, site manager Joao Bravo da Costa spoke about the construction process, voicing over a time-lapse video recording that condenses the 5-week site activity into a 6-minute clip. He emphasized the challenges faced by the construction team (essentially a group of students turned building contractor team). This commentary was completed by Max, a current DRL student who took part in the construction.
DRL tutors and pavilion initiators Patrik Schumacher, Theo Spyropoulos, and Tom Verebes added some thoughts and remarks to the discussion, which centered on the role that initiatives like the DRL Ten Pavilion can have in architectural education.
The DRL Ten Pavilion was designed by DRL alumni Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang, who won a competition initiated by the DRL tutors. It was built by students under the direction of tutor Yusuke Obuchi, with materials donated by Rieder of Austria, and expert support by Adams Kara Taylor engineers, who also contributed financially. Further donations were made by Zaha Hadid Architects, Icon magazine, and others. Philips provided lighting and Reza Nobakht offered surveying services.
The official opening of the AADRL Ten pavilion took place today at the architectural Association. The front members’ room was crowded beyond capacity for a toast to the completion of the built project and a viewing of the DRL Ten exhibition.
Speeches by AA school director Brett Steele and project leader Yusuke Obuchi thanked all parties involved in the project and emphasized the importance of this achievement in the curriculum of the DRL. It is the first time that the graduate program of the AA completes a built project. All the work on-site was carried out by students and tutors. Nevertheless, the pavilion was made possible only with the co-sponsorship and contribution of many parties (see project page for full information).
The DRL Ten exhibition, on display until April, documents a decade of architectural design and research within the studio, as well as work by DRL graduates and tutors.
Ground preparations started today, after part of the south corner of Bedford Square (in front of the Architectural Association) had been fenced off and and the first batch of components delivered. The first step in the construction was to prepare an even ground for the base, by using sand.
A 1:10 scale model teases the imagination and guides the work on site.
The first meeting of the site team took place today. It is an exciting moment, and we’re looking with anticipation to completing the challenge of building something quite complicated (though fairly small) without a contractor. Meaning that all the site management and logistics, as well as labor, will be the responsibility of DRL staff and students.
A blog will report the progress of the building over the coming weeks.
Saturday marked the reunion of DRL graduates for an afternoon of presentations and celebration of the program’s 10 years of activity. The presentations were glimpses into the post-DRL work of a few former students, as well as the work and research of course tutors.
21 presents their proposal for the Expo 2010 site. This was the Phase 2 (final) project presentation, and it marked the culmination of a 16-month period of design, research, and learning.
Topology is a new research topic in the development of our proposal for the site of the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
The aim is to explore the potential of topologically defined — as opposed to geometrically defined — architectural space and form. Topology is a science of qualities. By following a qualitative approach we intend to expand the possibilities for formal differentiation in the project.
The first challenge has been to define through the mathematics of nodal surfaces what we want to achieve with urban space: different degrees of connectivity and continuity. We found that nodal surfaces can assume countless shapes, provide the differentiation we are looking for, and yet preserve the characteristics of a minimal surface (zero mean curvature), thus offering a structural advantage.
Here is the transcript of an interview with Winy Maas that touched on such topics as invention and continuity, research, collaboration, and specialization. What are the architect’s priorities and how do they reflect his choices?
This was the first of a series of planned interviews with architects and theorists on the occasion of their lectures at the Architectural Association.
Hernan Diaz Alonso, head of Xefirotarch, was interviewed by Joao Bravo da Costa, Galo Cazares, and Mateo Riestra. He was asked to comment on the most important challenges to contemporary architecture, and to explain his work, his motivation, and the importance of research.
A summary of the interview will be available on this site, charting an accelerated digression from architecture to B-movies, the horrific, personality, and jazz.
