Structure & Form

Pavilion Design

Structure & Form

Pavilion Design

TD0612 Shreyas GavandeTD1812 Varish Panchal

Guide: Prof. Kulbhushan JainElective. Workshop. Semester 04. M.Arch (Theory & Design)

Cept University

The exercise was to design a pavilion having a covered area of about 250 sq.m. in Ahmedabad to be put up during summer for a short span of 3 months after which it would be removed. The material used should be light weight and should be easily dismountable after the said time span. Any structural system could be adopted expressing its purity of geometric purity, structural stability, and structural form for design.

The design process started with the form of a semi-circular vault as an expression of a semi-circular arch as the compression member. The same would be true for a vault with a ridge derived from a pointed or lancet arch.

The form to be achieved would be similar to a cross ribbed vault or Gothic Groin Vault.

As seen in the figures beside, starting with a ridged vault which transfers load to the ground as a compressive force.

Using this principle a radially symmetrical pavilion is designed by repeating the ridged vaults around a central point trimmed to converge at the centre to achieve a hexagonal plan and a floral form.

The highlighted part (forming a 60o angle at one end) of the ridged vault is discarded to achieve a petal form. It has one end pointed while the other is seen an a pointed arch in elevation, which would form the free end.

After the petal form is repeated radially about the pointed end, it forms a floral form which has similarities with the groin vault.

If the same process is repeated but by using a different part of the ridged vault as shown in figure alongside and discarding the highlighted part, a cuvrved surface in two planes is achieved. Radial repetition of this surface gives again a floral or groin vault but which is more delicate in aethetical appearance. Depending on the material to be used to construct the form will eventually give a still differnt appearance.

If this form has to be erected in steel, then the front open end can be considered as a steel portal and the other end to which the ridge and valley pieces will be attached. The portal will have to be supported on fixed supports - reinforced concrete column pedestals while the free and of the petal will be supported (like in a shell structure) by the other repetitions of the petal form, thus being in compression transfering the load to the column pedestals.

3D modelling in Autodesk Revit

Model Photographs

Model Photographs