FINALIST T YOUNG CLAUDIO DE ALBERTIS AWARD
Ambra Fabi
5 padiglioni per 5 parchi, Bruxelles
BRUXELLES, BELGIUM 2017
Architectural firm: Piovenefabi
Authors: Ambra Fabi, Giovanni Piovene
Photographs: Martina Bjorn
The project is about the construction of five temporary pavilions in five parks of the Brussels–Capital region: Duden, Cinquantenaire, Roi Baudouin, George Henri and Abbaye de la Cambre. The five pavilions – each one hosting a bar – have been devised in such a way to be installed and dismantled every year, for at least five summers. The venues they have been set up in are very different: monumental parks, dense urban contexts, central districts and suburbs. The client, Bruxelles Environment, wants to prove that the same, identical device can relate to different contexts, so as to generate different conditions. The five pavilions consist of the same elements, but differ in terms of colour and size.
The typical pavilion is, basically, a large fabric roof. The largest one covers an area measuring 14×14 metres, while the smallest is 14×2 metres. The white, waterproof fabric can be folded to adapt the pavilion to Brussels’ changing weather. The fabric roof is slightly tilted, to drain rainwater down one of the four sides of the pavilion, and it rests on a perimeter made of metal, painted tubes, which clearly defines the pavilion area. The pillars and the roof– an abstract colonnade – represent the minimum effort required for creating a space, hence architecture. One of the pillars rises above the edge beam to support a large, spherical lamp – the reference point for each pavilion.
The bar is a box that opens up during the day. Its structure is formed by wooden panels supported by painted metal frames. The box, once open, reveals its coloured interior.
The five pavilions are a family of small architectures that share the same constructive method, but vary in shapes and colours. The pavilions, as light as paper, but capable of withstanding bad weather conditions and a moving crowd, are both fragile and resistant.
Five outdoor rooms offer constantly varying urban conditions for Brussels’ summers.