Case Study
Ephemeral Permanence 1:1
Details:
[Text description provided by the official website of ICSA 2022 and Aalborg Universitet - All rights to the content belong to the original author]
This design & build workshop explores the reuse of construction components as a novel material and social practice. Provided with a given set of components, such as light steel parts or timber beams and panels, the participants will first analyse and discuss their technical and architectural properties as well as possible modes of connections. They will then design a temporary pavilion serving as a social place at the site of Trekanten, centrally located at Aalborg Havnefront. The site enjoys magnificent views of Limfjorden and is an entry point with cafes, street food, harbour bath and marinas. The site is to undergo a transformation in the next years. In the final phase of the workshop, the group will build the selected design, which will eventually be exhibited as part of the International Conference on Structures and Architecture 2022, a magnet for visiting international scholars and practitioners. The pavilion will be standing for about two months during summer serving both as a social place and hub along the harbourfront and a demonstrator of circularity that brings to life the potential of the site and foregrounds material reflexivity.
The most sustainable construction materials are those we already have. Reusing what already exists is at the heart of circular construction and a fundamental element of a more sustainable architecture. The two-week design & build workshop „Ephemeral Permanence 1:1“, part of the 5th International Conference on Structures and Architecture 2022 in Aalborg, Denmark, explored the reuse of construction components as a novel material and social practice. Strictly adhering to the principles of availability-based design, the participants sought a design that reflected the architectural and technical potential of reuse exploring the resulting spaces and surprising material perceptions. Additionally to using reclaimed materials, the pavilion was designed and constructed in such a way that the parts can be taken apart and reused elsewhere.
Provided with a given set of components harvested from various demolition sites, such as light steel columns, bricks, aerated concrete blocks, timber beams and panels, or roof tiles, the participants first analysed their technical and architectural properties. They then designed a temporary pavilion serving as a social place at the waterfront close to the city center but also to the nearby marina. The design reflects the projected site transformation in the coming years comprising the expansion of commercial areas in the neighbourhood and rising sea levels but also the growing market for reclaimed materials. The pavilion was designed in 2 and built in 7 days by all 11 participants, from various disciplinary backgrounds and different countries, together with the tutors and with great support from the AAU FAB LAB team.
Beyond its role as a viewing platform and meeting place during its 67-week existence, the temporary pavilion served as a 1:1 demonstrator of circularity that foregrounds material and resource reflexivity. If a building cannot be used anymore and faces demolition, we must at least reclaim its components. On the technical side, the major components should be recognised and reintroduced into the market. On the design side, this new broader notion of materiality pushes toward an availability-based design that also shapes the way we decide forms, connections, component arrangements and spaces. The team, therefore, developed a regular robust skeleton and modular material packages. The steel columns and wooden elements of the skeleton were clamped together non-destructively with steel clamps only, while the filling materials were connected with simple wooden frames and elastic cords. The quest for circular thinking thus applies to various levels: permanent components to shape ephemeral spaces and functions, understood as ephemeral resources that we need to cultivate towards a viable permanent development of the urban environment.
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All image rights © Mario Rinke
Teaching Team:
Mario Rinke, University of Antwerp
Alessandro Tellini, ETH Zürich
Tina Vestermann Olsen, Aalborg University