buildings Article The Obverse/Reverse Pavilion: An Example of a Form-Finding Design of Temporary, Low-Cost, and Eco-Friendly Structure Jerzy F. Ł ˛atka 1,* and Michał Swi˛eciak´ 2 1 Department of Architecture and Visual Arts, Faculty of Architecture, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-317 Wroclaw, Poland 2 Super Architektura Michał Swi˛eciak,86-300´ Grudzi ˛adz,Poland; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Temporary pavilions play an important role as experimental fields for architects, designers, and engineers, in addition to providing exhibition spaces. Novel structural and formal solutions applied in pavilions also can give them an unusual appearance that attracts the eyesight of spectators. In this article, the authors explore the possibility of combining structural novelty, visual attractiveness, and low cost in the design and construction of a temporary pavilion. For that purpose, an innovative structural system and design approach was applied, i.e., a membrane structure was designed in Rhino and Grasshopper environments with the use of the Kiwi!3D IsoGeometric analysis tool. The designed pavilion, named Obverse/Reverse, was built in Opole, Poland, for the occasion of World Architecture Day in July 2019. The design and the construction were performed by the authors in cooperation with students belonging to the Humanization of Urban Environment organization from the Faculty of Architecture Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. The resultant pavilion proved the potential of obtaining a low-budget but visually attractive architectural solution with the adaption of parametrical design tools and some scientific background with innovative structural systems. Citation: Ł ˛atka,J.F.; Swi˛eciak,M.´ The Obverse/Reverse Pavilion: An Keywords: parametric design; paper in architecture; temporary architecture; pop-up structures; Example of a Form-Finding Design of membrane structures; isogeometric analysis; fabrication Temporary, Low-Cost, and Eco-Friendly Structure. Buildings 2021, 11, 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/ buildings11060226 1. Introduction Today, more and more events such as festivals, trades, and exhibitions require individ- Academic Editor: Ewa Janina Grabska ual spatial design that should attract eyesight in order to draw the attention of passers-by. Often, this function is fulfilled by temporary pavilions. Although an event may last for a Received: 31 March 2021 very limited time, small architecture structures are usually built from traditional materi- Accepted: 20 May 2021 Published: 25 May 2021 als and in a simplified manner, i.e., rectilinear forms, resulting from limitations of using conventional CAD tools. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral The construction of temporary pavilions makes it possible to highlight the technologi- with regard to jurisdictional claims in cal, cultural, or artistic values and advancements of a presenting person, social group, or published maps and institutional affil- even whole nations during events, celebrations, or fairs. The most famous events allowing iations. for such displays are the World Fairs (Expos) during which nations exhibit their cultural, scientific, and technological legacy and advancements. Those expositions take place in pavilions designed especially for these occasions by architects, usually selected through a competition or to honor their current achievements. Temporary pavilions, originally intended for housing the actual exhibition, have become over the years the subject of these Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. exhibitions in their own right. Among the ‘temporary’ pavilions built on the occasion of This article is an open access article World Fairs, some were made using breakthrough technological solutions and they are distributed under the terms and still standing today (e.g., Portugal’s Pavilion—Figure1). Pritzker award-winning architect conditions of the Creative Commons Frei Otto was the author of Germany’s Pavilion during the World Fair in Montreal in Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// 1967, which disseminated the use of membrane structures. Today, temporary pavilions creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ that display cultural heritage, feature technological advancement, or constitute artistic 4.0/). manifests occur also during events of more minor importance than World Fairs. Every year Buildings 2021, 11, 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11060226 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings Buildings 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 27 Buildings 2021, 11, 226 treal in 1967, which disseminated the use of membrane structures. Today, temporary2 ofpa- 26 vilions that display cultural heritage, feature technological advancement, or constitute ar- tistic manifests occur also during events of more minor importance than World Fairs. sinceEvery 2000, year thesince Serpentine 2000, the Serpentine Galleries in Gallerie Londons in invite London a world-famous invite a world-famous architect toarchitect design andto design build and a pavilion build a that pavilion can attract that can visitors attract just visitors by its just appearance by its appearance [1]. [1]. Buildings 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 27 corrugated cardboard, which were cut and laminated with the use of a computer-con- trolled machine. The cones with different diameter fitted into one another, which reduced the amount of material and minimized the volume for transportation. The cones were protected against water and humidity by shrink foil. The Packed Pavilion, which was pro- duced in Switzerland and shipped to the Shanghai Expo in 2010, aimed to present how CAAD can be exploited for the design, production, and optimization of material use, the production process, and logistics [4]. The Underwood Pavilion was an experimental tensegrity structure created in 2014 by the students of Ball State University under the supervision of Gernot Riether, Andrew FigureFigureJ. Wit, 1. 1.and PortugalPortugal Steven PavilionPavilion T. 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