pavilion Archives | ek magazine | Architectural Publications

Exeter Road Pavilion

Konstantinos — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:31:47 +0000

This article by Konstantinos was published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications.

Consolidating functions

The Exeter Road Pavilion is an adaptive reuse of a modest Victorian garden outbuilding in northwest London, reimagined as a hybrid domestic and social space for an art collector and amateur DJ. Conceived as both a storage environment and a setting for leisure, the project consolidates diverse functions – archiving, display, gathering, and recreation – within a unified architectural gesture that extends from interior to landscape.

Design Philosophy

At the core of the proposal lies a continuous cabinet, operating as a contemporary cabinet of curiosities. Beginning within the refurbished structure and extending outward into the garden, this linear element accommodates an array of uses: art storage and display, shelving for books and vinyl records, a DJ station, a television, and personal artifacts. As it moves outdoors, it integrates recreational functions, including a ping-pong table, weights, and garden games, maintaining spatial continuity across interior and exterior domains.

Encased in a perforated stainless-steel screen, the cabinet oscillates between transparency and opacity. Its surface reflects and filters light, producing shifting visual conditions throughout the day. This duality allows the cabinet to simultaneously reveal and conceal its contents, reinforcing its role as both container and spatial mediator.

Structural Logic

The cabinet operates not only as storage but also as a structural system, supporting the canopy that extends over the outdoor space. The relationship between these elements introduces a deliberate tension, inspired by the precarious compositions of Fischli & Weiss. Rather than adhering to conventional structural logic, the design removes an expected column, redistributing forces through a counterbalancing system.

This equilibrium is achieved through a precisely milled marble mass embedded within a galvanized steel I-beam, paired with a tension rod anchored to a concealed concrete block below ground. The resulting configuration establishes a legible yet unconventional structural narrative, where balance is perceived as dynamic and contingent rather than fixed.

Materials & Sustainability

The canopy itself is composed of layered materials – marble, steel, and polycarbonate – articulated in a clear tectonic hierarchy. Stainless steel cladding on the cabinet mirrors the surrounding vegetation, while translucent roofing elements diffuse light into the space below. This material palette oscillates between raw and refined, grounding the project in both industrial precision and environmental responsiveness.

Through reflection, translucency, and spatial extension, the pavilion dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior. It becomes an instrument for observing seasonal and daily changes, where light, vegetation, and built form interact continuously. The project ultimately establishes a condition in which structure, storage, and landscape remain in constant and perceptible dialogue.

The post Exeter Road Pavilion was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Sanderumgaard Pavilion

Giannis — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:16:06 +0000

This article by Giannis was published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications.

Sanderumgaard garden was established on the danish island of Fyn between 1793 and 1828 by Johan Bülow, the most famous garden designer of his time in Denmark. Its 15 hectares are connected via a network of paths across various natural structures, as well as a 2 km channel system that grants access to visitors via small boats. The scenic beauty of the garden immediately became a source of inspiration for Bülow’s contemporary artists, authors, and poets of the Romantic period (Clemens, Eckersberg, Molberch, Winther).

In order to create contrast with nature, and emphasize the romantic character of the garden, Bülow dispersed 14 small pavilions in hut-like forms across the site. The pavilions were placed amidst lush vegetation, at secluded locations and could only be discovered by the “wandering souls” who dared to walk off the main road. Those small pavilions were monuments to a thought or a notion, often written above their door (“Døden vis, dødens tid uvis”, “Death known, its time unknown”). They were meant to be experienced in solitude, the preferred state of being of the Romantic soul.

When the architects were invited to reflect on adding a new pavilion to such a stylistically complete universe, they considered two options: either continue on Bülow’s path and create a modern version of his solitary bastions of culture, or pursue quite the opposite direction: a pavilion that is a hymn to nature, only this time as a collective rather than a solitary experience. Such a pavilion should be big enough and suitably shaped to encourage interaction between people, but it should also invoke a sense of modesty and dignity which would unite people in quietly witnessing a spectacle of a far grander scale : nature itself.

The proposal introduces a circular covered arcade which circumscribes a small courtyard in its middle. The courtyard is landscaped as a hybrid Nordic / Japanese garden, with moss, runic stones, and a cherry blossom tree: Its flowers, lasting only a few days a year, reminisce the ephemerality of life -an idea the Romantics would surely appreciate. The double-pitched roof is asymmetric in size, which allows the placement of a poetry room where the plan is deepest. This gives space for visitors to warm their hands at the fireplace, drink a cup of tea and even read poetry of the Romantic era. The arcade is otherwise open and accessible from all sides, and functions as shelter for impromptu gatherings such as concerts, gardening classes, or more formal events such as wedding receptions.

The pavilion is placed at a newly created island and is accessible by boat and via new bridges connecting it to the existing path network. The project is currently under funding with more than 60% of the construction budget covered.

SQ1 – SquareOne

The post Sanderumgaard Pavilion was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

Pavilion Competition

Giannis — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 09:57:24 +0000

This article by Giannis was published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications.

The ek exhibition pavilion, designed by Workroom2 Architecture – Alexandra Nikolaou, won the Visitors’ Choice Award for pavilions up to 20m² at this year’s 100% Hotel Show Pavilions Competition.

The pavilion was designed on the idea that the magazine, as well as architecture, are in perpetual evolution. To illustrate this concept, the architect staged an illusion technique using mirrors: the pavilion gives the impression of an endless tunnel, through the repetition of its structural frames, which results in the expansion of perspective depth. Initially, the structure appears bare, with its metallic supports made visible; progressively, the structural frame is dressed in mass, and shelters the exhibition space. Two wooden sideboards in the shape of a console, feature the magazines as if they were a museum exhibit. The materials chosen for the pavilion are coarse black sheet metal and MDF, to provide each magazine issue with better visibility.

This year’s Prizes were awarded to those pavilions that stood out in the visitors’ poll at the previous 100% Hotel Show exhibition and were delegated according to size. The winner of the “50+ m²” Category was Bagno y Bagno, and the “20-50 m²” Prize was awarded to Vagenas Contract Materials. The Awards ceremony was hosted by the 100% Hotel Show Exhibition organizer, Mr. Dimitrios Antonakos. Introducing the Pavilions Competition, where a visitors’ ballot runs all through the exhibition, saw a progressive surge in the quality of the pavilions’ design: Each year, the exhibition appears ever improving, and offers an exceptionally high-level experience to its many visitors. As a matter of course, ek is a media sponsor of the exhibition.

The post Pavilion Competition was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.