Whether temporary or permanent, pavilions and urban installations represent an opportunity for architects to experiment with different shapes, materials, and textures. The results are often theatrical, welcoming visitors to new types of spaces, and blending the exterior and the interior. Pavilions are often commissioned for events, exhibitions, or cultural programs, offering opportunities to explore innovative materials, construction techniques, and spatial concepts on a smaller scale. Some events, like the Serpentine in UK or the MPavilion in Australia, propose a yearly reimagining of their structures, offering opportunities for established and emerging architects to express themselves. Others, like the Venice Biennale, reuse the permanent garden pavilions, but invite curators to prepare exhibitions to reimagine them for every edition.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community showcasing pavilions and urban installations proposed in various environments, from urban plazas to agricultural fields or even airports. In Frankfurt, a translucent foliage-covered structure aims to honor the memory of a lost synagogue. in Ukraine, a visitor center reimagines an industrial landscape into an attractive meeting place, while a decentralized installation in the Netherlands hopes to bring communities together by collecting and sharing stories on scents. Whether temporary or permanent, these projects aim to provoke reflection and contemplation, while addressing larger themes of sustainability, resource availability, or the role of social spaces.
Read on to discover 8 pavilions and urban interventions submitted by the ArchDaily community, along with descriptions from the architects.
Redesign Ettinghausenplatz
A fragile spatial sculpture and simultaneously a green square that changes with the seasons: This is what Ettinghausenplatzin Frankfurt’s Höchst district will look like in the near future. The translucent, shimmering foliage will map the interior of a synagogue built on this spot in 1905 and destroyed by fire in the November 1938 Night of Broken Glass pogrom and subsequently razed to the ground. Thanks to the inverse footprint created by the vine structure, visitors will be able to experience the destroyed synagogue as a three-dimensional object.
Vitryak Visitor center
Vitryak is a project of a modern visitor center, which represents the ideas of the new world – pure and sustainable. Sustainable development is the key to our future, as it makes us independent of external factors, gives us freedom and makes us closer to nature. The windmill has already become part of the modern landscape, and our project complements this complex with its modern architectural forms. Vitryak is about the transformation of our attitude to nature and energy. This is a story about rethinking our potential independence because the energy received from the wind in its nature leads to complete freedom and flexibility.
Nature Machine
IM-A studio, Vform and Dmitry Morozov(Vtol:)
The TAB 2022 Installation aims to introduce a bioactive incubator with a functioning robotic unit as a part of the urban tissue and public space. It consists of an atmospheric timber installation with a birch bark curtain, a robotic unit that is depositing the structure during the biennale, and active mycelium inside. It is a study about co-habitation across species, combining synthetic and natural, aiming to create a poetic and functional pavilion.
Gateway to Punjab
Client Brief: Greater Mohali Area Development Authority [GMADA] organized a competition inviting designs for the entrance gate of Punjab to Chandigarh International Airport in Mohali. The theme was a blend of modern & traditional architecture in the form of a monument/ structure highlighting the spirit of Punjab culture & heritage. Our design is a tribute to the state, inspired by its flowing rivers and swaying fields. The structure, gently rising in the colors of the soil, is an iconic symbol for the visitors passing and part of the deep identity of the people of the state.
Follow the Scents
spring onion atelier
Follow the Scents is a garlic-shaped installation designed by spring onion atelier, it travels from the farmland to the city centre of the Leidsche Rijn, re-connecting the community by collecting and sharing everyone’s stories on scents from their kitchens.
Water Temples
The Water Temple celebrates the hydrological process through the deification of water and religious architecture. The temple is a hydrophilic structure that collects, filters, and stores rainwater. It also redirects excess water into groundwater reserves. The replenishment of groundwater secures water equity. The strategy of water deification and utilization of religious architecture is pertinent to giving cultural semblance to the global urgency of disseminating environmental intelligence. The Water Temple is an architectural manifestation of colonially subverted environmental consciousness.
Zabda Project
Laith Matarweh Studio for Architecture
The project is a memorial for the fertile Land, a reminder of how devoid we have become of nature and agriculture, how urbanization is slowly eroding what used to be distant fertile farmlands, where they are becoming ever more limited, confined, and demarcated by architecture and urban developments. It is a refuge for farmers, shepherds, and visitors. It is situated in the peripheries of Zabda in Wadi al-Seer, in Amman’s northwestern border, positioned distantly amidst virgin nature and fertile farmlands.
seeAsaw
Introducing SeeAsaw, the interactive and immersive structure for Beam Camp 2023 on Governor's Island, New York. Young participants will collaborate to construct a radial design of 6 seesaws, linked by a spectacular draping hammock made from repurposed fishing nets. The structure moves in a wave-like motion reminiscent of the sea, as a reminder of the devastating effects of ocean pollution. SeeAsaw encourages sustainable practices and raises awareness of the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems by repurposing discarded "ghost nets."
Topos
Topos is a wooden viewpoint proposal on Hverfjell, providing hikers with a spot to rest and enjoy the sky and earth's natural beauty. The viewpoint's circular shape follows the natural panoramic path of the crater, while the deeper central part offers a flexible platform to lie, sit or climb and gaze at the sky and earth. With a primitive exterior and a warm, adaptable interior, Topos offers a charming natural beauty experience for visitors.
HOW TO SUBMIT AN UNBUILT PROJECT
We highly appreciate the input from our readers and are always happy to see more projects designed by them. If you have an Unbuilt project to submit, click here and follow the guidelines. Our curators will review your submission and get back to you in case it is selected for a feature.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on June 08, 2023.
