*The Wink

Location: Demountable/Relocateable various sites
Client: Yorkshire Forward
Status: Competition Entry October 2008
Contract Value: £650,000

The Renaissance Towns & Cities programme has been a fantastic catalyst for change at a local level. We, too, are extremely passionate about the positive influence exciting new architecture can have on the local economy and culture. The Renaissance Pavilion calls for a disctinctive, flexible architecture that can accommodate and respond to varying functions and sites. Our aim has been to marry an architectural solution that is bespoke for each event and site, with the challenges of demountability whilst maintaining a fast and simple erection process.

We have come up with a set of components, a ‘kit of parts’, that can be put together in various configurations, each with a different architectural expression and form dependant upon the proposed use and site. The kit of parts comprises of a series of structural timber arches, varying in size and shape, that can be arranged and positioned not only at different points in plan but also at varying angles. A fabric skin is stretched over the arches like draping cloth over a mannequin, to create the enclosed pavilion.

Some of the arches pivot in their position, opening and closing like eye-lids, as if winking to the public and inviting them in. When the Pavilion closes, the fabric will stretch into position and will appear completely sealed from the outside with no visible entrance. But when the eyes of the Pavilion open again, the fabric naturally folds back to reveal the interior space.

This Pavilion is truly a tailor made solution with an in-built capacity for change and flexibility, adopting different forms for different functions, adapting to different sites in its shape and size and accommodating connections to other facilities and ‘add-ons’.
We have have illustrated here three different configurations for three main functions.