burnham pavillion by unstudio
image courtesy unstudio

the design of the unstudio pavilion initially uses the orthogonal setup
of the city and park grid. the edges of the pavilion follow the strict
grid system of the surrounding city and park geometry. burnham’s plan one
hundred years ago introduced this generic grid as the main generator of
the city texture. however alongside this he also introduced a device to
read both specificity and variation in the form of the diagonal boulevards,
thereby creating specific vistas throughout the city.

the unstudio pavilion operates in a similar way, but in contrast uses
the entire spectrum of 360 degrees. instead of burnham’s tectonic layering
of the city, the pavilion introduces a gradient between its ingredients
of floor, wall and ceiling in a floating and continuous form. the hierarchy
of the horizontal or vertical plane is converted into an understanding
of a space as continuous transformation and fluidity. the initially horizontal
panorama on top of the pavilion’s podium smoothly shifts diagonally into
the three roof openings, framing vertical views of the city skyline.


image courtesy unstudio

light installation:
to emphasize the shape and geometry of the building also through the night,
a sophisticated lighting device is introduced. built into the podium of
the pavilion, a system of 49 led lights illuminates the fluid forms of the
structure in between the two horizontal levels of podium and roof. in real-time
the ever changing animation of light varies in intensity, color and,
interactively, the rhythm of activation.


image courtesy unstudio


image courtesy unstudio


image courtesy unstudio



drawing of burnham pavillion
image courtesy unstudio

image courtesy unstudio

project credits:
unstudio
ben van berkel, caroline bos with christian veddeler, wouter de jonge
and hans-peter nuenning, ioana sulea

garofalo architects.
douglas garofalo with grant gibson