ContemPLAY is a pavilion that is combining steel and wood structure in an innovative way, the pavilion is created by the McGill School of Architecture, DRS (Directed Research Studio M.Arch) students in coordination with the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation (FARMM), investigating new methods of practice. Maria Mingallon and Jason Crow, the project instructors, shared with us these new updates about the pavilion.
photography by © Maria Mingallon
ContemPLAY pavilion
The ContemPLAY pavilion project is a student-led initiative investigating new methods of practice. The project presented a unique opportunity for the students of the Directed Research Studio (DRS) of the McGill School of Architecture to learn through hands-on experience in an academic context. DRS masters students in coordination with the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation (FARMM) are responsible for the design, fabrication and assembly of the parametric pavilion.
A revolution in digital modeling tools has enabled a new generation of designers to model anything that they are capable of imagining. A typical problem with many of the resulting designs is that it is very difficult to move past the formal superficiality of the digital model into confronting the physical limitations and complications of construction. The production of the ContemPLAY pavilion engaged the question of learning not through the representation of potential project but in questioning through making. In this way, formal possibility and technical complexity were interrogated by fabrication. As a design-build effort, the project team confronted research into cutting-edge processes within the many challenges of bringing any design to reality.
photography by © David Dworkind
The ContemPLAY pavilion project began as an exercise in parametric design and digital fabrication, and the built form now exists as an architectural statement about resolving complexity. The pavilion is a device for provoking inquiry, thoughtfulness, and even wonder about spaces and objects in one’s environment. It manipulates viewers’ perceptions through its overall form and carefully arrayed details, inviting the user to discern the boundaries between public furniture, shelter, and art.
photography by © David Dworkind
Team
Hamza Alhbian, Simon Bastien, Justin Boulanger, Evguenia Chevtchenko, Elisa Costa, Jason Crow, Nicolas Demers-Stoddart, Andrew Hruby, Olga Karpova, Shelley Ludman, Diandra Maselli, Maria Mingallon, Courtney Posel, Dina Safonova, Dieter Toews, Sophie Wilkin.
Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.