PEFC Pavilion – Luca Sabbadini

PEFC Pavilion

The challenge was to design a temporary pavilion (16m x 7m x 3m) to host and represent Friuli’s wood industries during fairs. The pavilion is proposed as a means by which propel the traditional Friuli’s techniques to new availments, able to exploit the raw material by contemporary forms. The different parts that make up the pavilion are treated differently in relation to the function and to the message they must transmit. The pavilion is divided into two main sets: the base + the warehouse and the “skin”. The base, which gives stability to the body, is been thought as a compact element, with a minimal shape to emphasize the material in its purity; it is made of beech wood planks (darkened but not painted) with a rough finish. The result is an “outspoken” but noble element that demonstrates how a firm tradition constitutes an excellent basis for an innovative development. The warehouse continues this speech, by binding to the base, however evolving in shape to adapt to the function to be welcomed. The skin, which determines the spatial configuration of the pavilion, represents the formal innovation of the material. It’s composed by a semipermeable membrane which it opens in the passage areas without creating a predetermined path and actual physical thresholds. Where the membrane touches the ground, the connection between inside and outside is maintained through a fir slats weaving, that still allows the view to pass through. For the structural elements, the mechanical characteristics of the wood, equally resistant to traction and compression, were fundamental for the creation of a reticular structure of laminated beams (square section), whose static response is comparable to that of structures in more technological materials.