Students of the Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC) created a pavilion made of birch plywood and galvanized steel plates.

Called Pentaura Pavilion, the timber structure was made for a primary school, to give the students an outdoor theatre and classroom that provides shade, is lightweight, and can stand up to strong winds.

The pavilion consists of triangular shaped pieces of birch plywood, which are joined together by galvanized steel plates. The base form of the pavilion was based on a method inspired by Gaudi’s hanging chain models, while the shape comes from parametric modelling loads. The tessellating pattern of the folds come from origami folds based on Miura patterns, named after the Japanese astronomer Kōryō Miura. Finally, corrugation was used to strengthen the skin, while using less material.

Photos: Polytechnic University of Catalunya / Imma Bigas