Modular Exhibition Pavilion

for Serralves Museum

The Serralves Foundation promoted a competition for an itinerary pavilion to host art exhibitions and performances in different locations. The program includes a flexible structure which might assume different dimensions (from 200m2 to 600m2) that should be able to be repeatedly assembled, disassembled and stored.

Within these requests, we assumed three factors as the leading forces of design: to guarantee the structural resistance of the pavilion after several assemblies; to find the cheapest solution for the pavilion storage (when the pavilion is not in use, it shouldn’t represent any cost); finally, to provide same physical conditions of a permanent museum, keeping safely the art pieces at display.

Our proposal consists of a group of concrete pieces, including the insulation layer as well as all the technical wiring, composing modules that are connected each other and flexibly displayed, creating buildings with different shapes and dimensions, according the specific needs of each exhibition.

These modules have three different sizes, allowing them to be stored inside each other, as a matryoshka, occupying a reduced space. Considering the rough composition of the modules, they are able to be stored anywhere, including in the exterior, not needing a warehouse, reducing the storage costs to zero.

All the pieces were calculated and designed with specific dimensions to allow an easy transportation and an effective assembly. It ensures not just the building feasibility in constructive terms but also the economical and technical viability of the assembly/disassembly process.

PROJECT INFORMATION

CLIENT: Competition
YEAR: 2017
STATUS: ongoing
DIMENSION: 200-600 sqm
TYPE: Temporary pavillon
PROJECT LEADER: Samuel Gonçalves
PROJECT TEAM: Inês Vieira Rodrigues
RENDERS: Alban Wagener