SuitCase Pavilion

SuitCase Pavilion - Abstract
London Festival of Architecture
June 21, 2008

C U P proposes to design and develop a full-scale pavilion that will travel from the United States to London. The city of London will be clothed in the Suitcase Pavilion and the pavilion can be seen as an individual occupied by London. Just as the traveler unpacks her apparel for wear or storage, the pavilion can be configured to the specific users or site for the festival. The thesis of unit/multiple assembly embodies this spatial possibility, nesting both repetition and non-standardization within its system. Both analog and digital technologies drive the idea for the pavilion as a means to connect and reveal it within the specific context of London. Stacking and interlocking components form the structure, evoking the “bricks”, or building blocks of the past. The visual imagery that the pavilion will produce can be seen as both structurally stable and as lightweight filigree.

Terry Surjan, the professor for the studio, has done a series of similar projects. In 2004 & 2005, the STL blocks and the Jellyfish skin were constructed from 600 units of three basic types. Both structures won national awards for design and pedagogy within higher education.

The Suitcase Pavilion develops in a related yet original way to express the potentials for the South Kensington Hub Site - Pedestrian Tunnel to Museums. The title for the project expresses the transport of the materials by airplane and vehicle to the site for construction.

C U P will take two suitcases each for our travel expedition. One suitcase will hold their personal belongings; the second suitcase will hold the flattened components for the pavilion. Upon arrival in London the components in the second suitcase will be transformed into a three dimensional structure for display and inhabitation. The entire time for physical setup and construction of the Suitcase Pavilion will be three days.

The pavilion will be open from June 20th to July 20th, 2008; after the festival, individual components will be given to the public as “gifts”, a gesture that reveals the ephemeral nature of the work.

Additionally, complementing the overall project, C U P will give a public lecture on all the processes and technology incorporated into the Suitcase Pavilion as an exhibition specifically designed for the city of London.