scott jarvie: fingerprint pavillion

‘fingerprint pavillion’ by scott jarvie all images courtesy scott jarvie

UK designer scott jarvie created his ‘fingerprint pavillion’ proposal for the lightbox gallery competition for the 2009 london design festival. as the name suggests his design was based on that of a human fingerprint.

views from the upper gallery further emphasise the iconography of the human fingerprint and  illustrate the ample section overlap to ensure that the structure remains weatherproof.

top – space arranged for speeches and public presentations to an audience of 30 seated individuals. the space is laid out in order to create panoramic views of the speaker and the structure.

middle – space arranged for a party or social context. this scheme provides both the opportunity to circulate freely in the space or to sit or stand at a table.

bottom – space designed for the presentation of an exhibition. the pavilion is positioned on the site in such a way as to partially reveal the exhibition from the outside to generate curiosity. the space is lit with directional spot lights mounted on the substructure’s spine to highlight the artefacts in the exhibition.

model of  ‘fingerprint pavillion’

substructurethe substructure consists of catenary derived ribs fabricated from a double thickness of spruce ply. this double thickness provides additional strength and the bolted overlapped design allows the fabrication of larger sections. the ribs have slotted sections in order to locate the weather barrier sections (wbs).

weather barrier

the weather barrier system ensures that the pavilion is weatherproof while also being airy and allowing light transmission. the wbs are cut to lengths that line up with the substructure. the system is stackable and can be assembled with ease.

the fingerprint is located on the site with its door parallel to that of the lightbox. it is positioned to maximise the sun light received during the day whilst also taking advantage of the lateral weather protection offered by the 3m high perimeter wall. the position also facilitates the serving of the pavilion with electricity.