Half Half Pavilion
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2023 Summer, Year 2
Sichuan, China
Pavilion, Competition
The 9th Architecture Competition and Construction Festival
South West Jiantong University
Second Place out of 27 teams
2400mm x 2400mm x 3000mm (H)
The pavilion is an entry to a competition. The brief is to design a 1:1 pavilion with wood materials in 2 weeks and complete the construction within 2 days. This design uses standard industrial plywood panels (240mm x 30mm x 5mm thick) as the basic construction elements, exploring a fast and lightweight building method.
This experiment utilised an interlocking joint system that requires no nails or glue, allowing for quick assembly and easy disassembly for reconstruction at another site. The design features two halves that create different boundaries and spatial experiences inside and outside. The composition emphasises the division of the upper part and lower part, yet it blurs the boundary between inside and outside.
The entire structure is divided into two halves: a square space as the upper half, while the lower half is divided into four squares by a cross-shaped structure.
When four people enter from the four corners, their lower bodies are separated while their upper bodies share the same space. From an outsider’s perspective, the partially exposed and partially disguised bodies raise curiosity.
From the user’s perspective, discomfort comes from the exposed lower half, while the intimate upper half creates a different sense of discomfort and embarrassment with each other because of the intimacy, intensifying the tension between body and space. Their gaze moves from meeting to avoidance, finally following the upward-opening structure toward the sky.
