Architecture in motion: change we can believe in

Abstract

This research project addresses a triple agenda of portability, adaptability and sustainability through the design of a multipurpose public events venue for Auckland city. Proposed events range from small community based markets to large exhibitions and concerts, all of which service and support the Auckland Summertime festival. Extreme flexibility and adaptability, including significant change of shape and size, is the key programmatic requirement. The brief is further expanded to include portability; as the pavilion does not have a singular fixed location, but travels to diverse sites throughout the wider Auckland region. Portability also entails issues of ephemerality and transience in architecture. Lastly, the brief also postulates the green dimension; the pavilion is expected to perform in a highly efficient manner, as well as achieve a high degree of self-sufficiency.

The general approach to resolving this complex triple agenda is through prefabrication. The construction method is based on a structurally engineered timber panel building system, which incorporates principles of scaffolding for supporting structure.

The wider significance of the project lies in demonstrating that the traditional prejudice towards prefabricated systems as cheap, short-term and unsuitable public buildings is unjust. A prefab multi-use public pavilion is not only practical, safe and affordable - it can also inhabit and therefore enhance many locations, accommodate a very wide range of uses, and be resource-autonomous and environmentally friendly.