SPOTLIGHTING THE TOP 10 pavilions OF 2023

As we continue our annual roundup of 2023’s BIG stories, we take a look at some of the most exciting pavilions featured on designboom this year. Pavilions are essentially open or semi-enclosed structures, usually found in parks, gardens, or public spaces. They are versatile spaces and can be used for hosting events, outdoor gatherings, or as relaxation areas. They come in different styles, from traditional designs to more contemporary and innovative structures, often aiming to bring people closer, foster social interaction, and offer a space where people can connect while enjoying the beauty of the surrounding environment. Over the years, the concept of pavilions has gained popularity, meeting the growing need to unite people and create a sense of a protected space, where individuals feel secure within their own enclave.

From an intricate pavilion by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY forming through interconnected bubbles to Tadao Ando‘s floating structure, serving as a peaceful sanctuary, we have compiled the TOP 10 pavilions featured on designboom in 2023.

AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE LINA GHOTMEH’S SERPENTINE PAVILION THROUGH THE LENS OF STE MURRAY

Serpentine Pavilion by Lina Ghotmeh, image by Ste Murray

Lina Ghotmeh’s Serpentine Pavilion, aptly named À table, takes the shape of a circular wooden structure featuring a unique folded roof design, harmonizing with its natural surroundings. Ste Murray captures the essence of the structure efficiently showcasing both its overall structure and intricate details. This pavilion symbolizes our collective yearning for a profound and lasting connection with the natural world, inviting people to gather and connect around a concentric table. Designed in harmony with the surrounding tree canopies, the internal wooden beams elegantly emerge, resembling slender birch tree trunks. The space is adorned with perforated timber slabs mirroring leaf patterns, while the roof’s design draws inspiration from the form of a palm leaf.

LOUIS VUITTON PAVILION BY MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY BUBBLES UP AT MILAN DESIGN WEEK

Nomad by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY, image by naaro

Louis Vuitton‘s Nomad is an intricate pavilion designed by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY for the Milan Design Week 2023. The project, showcasing the signature coral-like designs of the New York-based French architect, resembles a living entity that has organically bubbled up from the courtyard of Palazzo Serbelloni. The ultra-thin structure is composed of over 1,600 uniquely shaped and patterned anodized aluminium sheets, some as thin as 1 millimeter.

‘TSUGINOTE TEA HOUSE’: REIMAGINING TRADITIONAL JAPANESE JOINERY WITH 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

Tsuginote Tea House by Kei Atsumi and Nicholas Préaud, image by Eiichi Yoshioka

Tsuginote Tea House by Kei Atsumi and Nicholas Préaud is a small pavilion at the Kanazawa Shrine in Japan that exudes tranquility. This structure crystallizes three years of research on 3D printing technology and its application in common-use architecture, particularly in ancestral Japanese wood joinery. Beyond optimizing a traditional technique, the design team also looked to new sustainable uses for discarded wood materials through wood-based PLA filament found in all construction elements.

BANGKOK PROJECT STUDIO CONSTRUCTS GRAND GABLE ROOF PAVILION FOR THAILAND FESTIVAL

Neramit Pavilion by Bangkok Studio, image by Spaceshift Studio

Neramit Pavilion by Thailand-based architecture practice Bangkok Studio, led by Boonserm Premthada is a triangular steel structure at the heart of the Wonderfruit year-end festival. Taking shape as a vast gable roof spanning 30 by 30 meters, Neramit embodies the principles of non-architecture, focusing on simplicity, affordability, local sourcing, functionality, climate adaptability, and commonality. ‘A building with a gable roof is an example of a commonplace non-architecture, particularly in rural areas. Each element of the structure makes sense and supports one another. Each piece is intertwined and connected to optimize load bearing capacity with gravity and joints,’ describes the architect. This roof acts as a versatile space for various activities throughout the festival’s four-day duration, serving as a communal gathering point for relaxation, socialization, talks, and performances.

TADAO ANDO’S COMPLETED MPAVILION 10 DESIGN OPENS AS A TRANQUIL SANCTUARY IN MELBOURNE

MPavilion by Tadao Ando

Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando designed MPavilion, the flagship initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation in Queen Victoria Gardens, Australia. Marking Ando’s first-ever project in Australia, the project reflects his signature use of striking geometric interventions in nature and his precise, assured use of concrete. Positioned within Melbourne’s cultural and botanic garden precinct, the MPavilion 10 offers a memorable and pure structure that is in dialogue with the park setting. ‘I hope that as people visit, they allow this space to enter their hearts, and allow their senses to tune into the light and breeze interacting with them and this space. I hope for them an experience of harmony with nature, with themselves, and with others,‘ comments the architect.

VAULTED PAVILION E4 INTRODUCES MODERN CLASSROOM CONCEPT FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING

Pavilion E4 by Juan Gavilanes Veláz de Medrano and Ferrán Ventura Blanch in partnership with the University of Malaga, image by Fernando Alda Fotógrafo de Arquitectura

Pavilion E4 aims to develop a flexible classroom concept that integrates outdoor learning with advanced technology. Its final design resembles an amoeba-like structure when seen from above, adorned with beehive-shaped technological features on the roof. Underneath this organic canopy, the space is defined by several vaults that avoid strict boundaries, allowing for an expanded functional area. These curved outlines create a dynamic spatial experience characterized by different heights and levels. The Pavilion is a collaborative project led by Juan Gavilanes Veláz de Medrano and Ferrán Ventura Blanch in partnership with the University of Malaga.

WHAT ROLE CAN THE BIENNALE PLAY IN THE CITY OF VENICE? THE AUSTRIAN PAVILION CURATORS WEIGH IN

Austrian Pavilion by AKT with Hermann Czech, image by Clelia Cadamuro

Architecture collective AKT in collaboration with Austrian architect Hermann Czech curated the Austrian Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2023. During their conception phase, the design team planned to open part of the temporary pavilion to Sant’Elena, the Venetian neighborhood residing just behind the grounds of the Biennale, separated only by a wall. Opening up a pathway meant Venetian residents could freely access the pavilion without paying an entrance fee, hence creating a social circle and exchange, an interaction between the transient space of the pavilion and the permanent home of the residents. For its exhibition inside the Austrian Pavilion, the architecture collective and Austrian architect question Venice Biennale’s spatial policy, all while unraveling what its slogan this year ‘The Laboratory of the Future’ truly entails.

A LUMINOUS PAVILION BY HAS OCCUPIES A HISTORIC WALLED VILLAGE IN SHENZHEN

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Freeing FrameYard by HAS Design and Research, image by Yu Bai

HAS Design and Research presents a modern intervention within a walled ‘Hakka’ village of Shenzhen‘s Pingshan District. This traditional type of enclosed village has a history dating back nearly two hundred years and is organized with a multi-family, communal living structure. Titled Freeing FrameYard, the newly completed pavilion is designed to evoke a longtime legend that holds the native banyan tree as a sacred tree to be planted in front of the house to symbolize prosperity and longevity. The pavilion by HAS Design and Research takes shape as a collection of five thousand tubes, which together create an ethereal volume in contrast with the surrounding buildings. The place stands as a space for meditation, where visitors might communicate with the sky. During the evening, hidden strips of integrated lighting draw soft arching curves, ‘giving Hakka villages a place of hope.’

‘THE CITY OF TIME’: MAD’S MA YANSONG SCULPTS MAZE-LIKE ARTIST HUB FOR ARANYA THEATER FESTIVAL

the City of Time by Ma Yansong, image by Aranya Theater Festival, MAD Architects – Fiona Qi Ziying

This temporary pavilion, dubbed The City of Time, was completed as part of the Migratory Birds 300, a 300-hour artist residency that brings together 300 creators from diverse fields and backgrounds to assemble by the seaside in Aranya. Emerging as an enclosure of sand-colored walls, The City of Time’s maze-like architecture by Ma Yansong at the Aranya Theater Festival is punctuated by a series of organically shaped sections and a large circular spot at the center. Each section of the pavilion lacks unnecessary ornamentations and features, creating a minimal spatial layout that allows every artwork and performance/show to take center stage without any distractions from their backdrops.

HEMP BRICK INSTALLATION BY PARK ASSOCIATI EXPLORES BIO-BASED MATERIALS IN ARCHITECTURE

TATU pavilion by Park Associati, image by Park Associati

Park Associati has designed the TATU pavilion, a temporary installation made entirely from hempcrete blocks to showcase the potential of bio-based materials in the field of architecture. TATU was first unveiled during the second edition of the Build – From High Tech to Low Tech fair, held in September 2023 at Casa da Arquitectura in Porto, as a two-day workshop experience. The structure, easily assembled and disassembled within a few hours, explores the application of parametric design principles in low-tech construction, emphasizing the role these materials could play in the future of architecture. After disassembly, the hemp blocks that constituted the installation were transported to a construction site for a private villa being built outside Porto.