Features in Azure

“high-performance structure of unprecedented formal complexity”

2018.11.23 | AZURE

Made and assembled over three days, the University of British Columbia‘s Wander Wood pavilion is all about proximity: material sourcing and production all centred around Vancouver. The temporary pavilion, slated to be up for a year, is the manifestation of Robot Made: Large-Scale Robotic Timber Fabrication in Architecture, a workshop at the university’s School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture hosted in October.

Made using parametric design, time-tested structural principles for wood construction and robotic CNC milling, the pavilion is an example of how designers are stretching, bending and testing the limits of wood, which we expect to be a major trend in 2019. Wander Wood’s gently curving, latticed exterior also has environmental capabilities, say its makers: along with being a “high-performance structure of unprecedented formal complexity,” the wood itself is a renewable resource that stores carbon. Beyond its striking form, the pavilion also provides space for students to linger, sit or even snooze.

Though Wander Wood is temporary, it shows how quickly assembled, sustainable architecture can deliver intrigue to the public realm.