DRL TEN Pavilion

The celebration of ten years since the establishment of the DRL (Design Research Laboratory) at the renowned AA (Architectural Association School of Architecture) in London began with the opening of a pavilion at Bedford Square.
DRL is a postgraduate program at AA led by Patrik Schumacher and Yusuke Obuchi. The realized design won a competition announced in November 2007 for graduates and current students of the course. The condition was to design a building with a low budget, easy implementation, simple, and elegant forms using fiber-reinforced concrete panels from Rieder Co. The dimensions could not exceed 10 x 10 x 5 meters. Out of more than 350 graduates of the course, 28 teams participated in the competition.
The winning design is the work of architects Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang. Both architects started working for Future Systems in London after diverse academic experiences. The construction process of the pavilion was completed within six weeks with the assistance of the construction company Adams Kara Taylor, which ensured the construction process, and the Austrian company Rieder Co., which supplied the building material.
The building is a nice example of the embodiment of organically shaped architecture and a functional manifestation of DLR's ideas. The aesthetics of the building lies in the simplicity of its form and the thoughtful structural detail. The overall shape of the pavilion has no dead spots, providing a convincing expressive presence from every angle of view. The dominant application of C-shaped profiles has an interesting aesthetic and, above all, structural character. The pavilion feels like a closed yet open space.
The structure consists of multiply reinforced concrete panels that are 13 mm thick in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. The panels are usually used as a façade cladding material, and the pavilion is evidence of their broader structural use. The panels were cut into the desired shapes in the factory, subsequently brought to the construction site, and assembled manually. Their connections are secured with silicone pockets.
The pavilion will be part of Bedford Square until June of this year. There are also considerations for its sale or relocation to another significant architectural center.