beijing based practice, MAT office, has created a pavilion for the 2018 suzhou international design week held in the historic and cultural gusu district. the temporary building is designed for specific public functions, focusing on form-related space, as well as the experience of visitors. the pavilion undertakes information release, cultural salon and other public activities during the design week, along with the development of exposition and art exhibitions. 

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

pavilion and courtyard, photo © tang kangshuo

 

 

the ‘temporary’ features of the pavilion lead to the exploration of lighter materials and more flexible construction methods. the design is inspired by the traditional jiangnan residential settlements, which are characterised by their continuous repetition of walls and rolling roofs. MAT office aims to recreate this group form by manipulation of the roofs: four columns form a roof, the branches that grow on each pillar can form another roof with the other pillars – resulting in a continuous space defined by the forest-like pillars.

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

pavilion night perspective, photo © xia zhi

 

 

the final design results in a ‘six-petal’ plan layout for the pavilion. the architects abstracted the traditional building roofs, regrouped them at different heights, and formed the space underneath using 8 floating roofs and 18 steel pillars. with such an open space, the pavilion is also like an amphitheatre, offering places for music, performances, salons and other social activities. 

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

pavilion under the sunshine, photo © xia zhi

 

 

besides the main steel structure, a large number of lightweight materials are used in the pavilion in order to correspond its temporary and interactive characteristics. the translucent roofs made by stacking hexagonal polycarbonate pieces, while providing bright daylight, textures resulting from overlapping also associated with vernacular culture in suzhou. the cafe area uses colorful plastic curtain as the façade material, echoing design week’s main visual color, the pink elastic curtain at the entrance and interactive area also provides fun places for adults and children. the ‘beyond the wind’ pavilion is not only a big ‘toy-like’ cultural landmark, but also a carrier of various public events during the design week. inspiration is taken from traditional settlements, and recomposed in an artistic way, aiming to revive the surrounding historical area by implanting such a free space. 

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

salon in pavilion, photo © xia zhi

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

roofs and elastic curtain, photo © tang kangshuo

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

roofs and interactive space, photo © xia zhi

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

space under the roofs, photo © tang kangshuo

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 
cafe, photo © tang kangshuo

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 
pavilion and the city, photo © xia zhi

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

pavilion aerial, photo © xia zhi

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion elevation

MAT office creates a canopy of roofs for the 2018 suzhou design week pavilion 

structural diagram

 

 

project info:

 

project: ‘beyond the wind’ – 2018 suzhou international design week pavilion

client: 2018 suzhou international design week

location: taohuawu, gusu district, suzhou

architect: MAT office

design team: tang kangshuo, zhang miao, liu youpeng, tong siyang, wang wentao

structure consultant: tang lida, map3 architecture&structure consultant

built area: 160 m2

material: steel column, osb board, polycarbonate panel, plastic curtain

completion: 2018.11

photography: xia zhi, tang kangshuo

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom