kinetic pavilion of wooden deck chairs by lasovsky johansson blooms in copenhagen

during the day, the sun loungers open to provide access to an events area; at night, they collapse to form a screen for graphic projections.

LJ Architects edited by thomai tsimpou September 11, 2024 4 min

petal pavilion reimagines the humble deck chair

Transforming the humble deck chair into a playful kinetic structure that shifts with time, Lasovsky Johansson Architects’ PETAL pavilion reimagines a familiar everyday object. Located within the courtyard of the Design Museum Denmark, inviting interactivity, 18 wooden vertical sections unravel around a cylindrical plywood core.

With the use of linear actuators, these chairs open and close throughout the day, changing with the program of the museum. During the day, the structure appears ‘in full bloom’ when the sun loungers are opened up to provide access to a 360 degree bar and events area. At night, they collapse to form a screen for color and graphic projections.

Lasovsky Johansson Architects creates adaptable event space

Lasovsky Johansson Architects’ first created the pavilion for the CHART Art Fair 2023 in Copenhagen, demonstrating how adaptive reuse can be a catalyst for creativity, built around the idea of a blooming flower. The Danish studio has introduced a new layer of meaning to a common product to create a temporary interactive installation — an idea which reflects the ethos of the New European Bauhaus, showcasing how accessible, eco-conscious design can still be visually dynamic and engaging. PETAL is further designed to be easy to assemble and disassemble, leveraging the original flat-pack design of deck chairs.

Each section of the pavilion features five deck chairs suspended on the exterior of the columns. The structure is kinetic, preserving the chairs’ original functionality, allowing them to open and close to varying degrees. Nine linear actuators control this motion, mimicking the manual operation of a deck chair by moving their lower parts up and down along a track between the columns. The project was created with the support of the Danish Arts Foundation, and received a prize in young Swedish design — Ung Svensk Form.

designed to be easy to assemble and disassemble, leveraging the original flat-pack design of deck chairs-2 — designed to be easy to assemble and disassemble, leveraging the original flat-pack design of deck chairs

petal-pavilion-lasovsky-johansson-designboom-1 — during the day, the structure appears ‘in full bloom’

petal kinetic pavilion 7 — when the sun loungers are opened up, they provide access to a 360 degree bar and events area

petal-pavilion-lasovsky-johansson-designboom-3 — nine linear actuators control its motion, mimicking the manual operation of a deck chair

petal kinetic pavilion 10 — the deck chairs can collapse to form a screen for color and graphic projections

petal kinetic pavilion 9 — illuminated from within

petal kinetic pavilion 11 — the project received a prize in young Swedish design — Ung Svensk Form

project info:

name: PETAL

architect: Lasovsky Johansson Architects | @lasovskyjohansson
lead designers: Hanna Johansson, Juras Lasovsky

location: Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen

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