Overview Of DRL10 Pavilion Designed By Alan Dempsey And Alvin Huang

DRL10 pavilion was entered in the design competition during 2007 by Alan Dempsey and Alvin Huang. This temporary pavilion projects a striking quality from far and wide and attracts individuals to its concrete and steel structure that merges a curved formation. This pavilion has multiple purposes for its use. It acts as a shelter and stage for various individuals. The curiosity of its structure acts as an emblem of mystic and functionality. According to a Journal Article Structural Design of the DRL-10 Space Pavilion by Oliver Bruckermann and Jugatx Ansotegui Alberdi, the DRL10 space pavilion stands for Designn Research Laboratory Space Pavilion. The intention for the pavilion was purely for Experimentation and to create an eye-catching architectural structure by using Fiber reinforced concrete as a structural backbone of the pavilion.

Materiality

The materiality of this structure is majorly steel and fibre reinforced concrete. Steel is an industrial material and is commonly used as a structural because of it tensile property and has a ductile element to it allowing designers to construct unique forms like the DRL10 pavilion and, thus, having a low mishap of structural failure. Steel is considered a very economical material (BCSA). The architects use this to their advantage by creating an unique formation of thin fibre steel that is about 10m in dept. This structure is jointed with blocks of reinforced concrete which is polymer fibers combined to cement concrete. According to the article Properties of Concrete by The Constructor, Concrete is a highly versatile and extremely affordable and cost efficient.

Concrete has a longevity element to it which means that the material becomes stronger over time and does not deteriorate from rain or snow.

Geometry

The pavilion is formed into an asymmetrical egg-like shape by using reinforced concrete and steel. Reinforced Concrete is advantageous because of its resistance to exterior damage such as fluctuating temperature and interior impairment. With this in mind, architecture designing this pavilion took the climate to their design process. The site of the location was London which means that the climate usually includes cold winters, hot summers along with continuous precipitation.

DLR10 Pavilion’s structure is made so that it can withstand the fluctuating winds by the means that the sphere-like shape prevents dead loads such as wind loads and snow loads from demolishing the structure. Due to its curvilinear form, significant wind loads are reduced

Structural Forces

Wind loads are projecting forces on this structure however, because of its fluid nature of its form, those wind loads are reduced significantly compared to solid structures. Shear forces are being applied to the base of the structure, forces of the steel plates are pushing on the base of the construction and the base floor is pushing an opposite force upward to allow equilibrium of forces and stabilize the pavilion (the Physics Classroom). The main force that is being acted on the pavilion is tension that is occurring on the string like fibres of steel (the Physics Classroom). The joints within the steel plates are being compressed and holding up the whole structure. Materials are formed into a lattice-like structure that’s been curved into an eggshell shape (SDA). The architects use contemporary experimentation of three dimensional and physical modeling. Using CNC router to cut the hard materiality of 13mm of concrete flat sheets and 15mm of steel plates. According to Bruckermann and Alberti, the structure is constructed with 850 plates and 2000 joints that are enmeshed into a grid structure. Steel is a non-corrosive material and used as a building’s structural base.

DRL10 pavilion uses a technological, computer based design process. It’s created an innovative practice to create a sturdy and enticing form with materials that are economical and efficient. This element of intrigue is something that should be included in the design process to produce an entryway for High Park. The architects really placed an importance to technological experimentation and the ability to extrapolate from design thinking and thus, should be something that should be discussed with my group members. With that being said, having a good balance of conceptual thinking and whether our technical ideation fits the project. With the DRL10 pavilion, the architects struggled with the structural support and stability of their form.

Another thing that should be discussed would be thinking about constructing a unique structure that is fluid and not in a solid shape. By creating a form that is more fluid, will in essence cause a sense of intrigue and interest for individuals. Essentially, the main focus of our design should be to attract groups of people to the structure. The architected and under those constraints, it would be advantageous to create structures that a more asymmetrical.