Frsh | Architectural Association Beijing Visiting School 2013 - Aidia Studio - Orproject

A collaboration between Aidia Studio, Orproject, and AA’s Beijing Visiting School produced Frsh pavilion. Frsh means carpet or rug, and the pavilion is meant as a magic carpet: ‘Frsh is hovering in space, creating volumes underneath it and a continuously floating landscape above.’

Courtesy of © Architectural Association Beijing Visiting School 2013 – Aidia Studio – Orproject

Led by Rolando Rodriguez-Leal of Aidia Studio and Christoph Klemmt of Orproject, 10 students designed and assembled this sweeping pavilion over the course of 9 days. The assembly itself only took 10 hours. The students have designed large-scale landscape and building proposals as part of the workshop and the installation is an exploration of a possible construction system for their proposals.

Courtesy of © Architectural Association Beijing Visiting School 2013 – Aidia Studio – Orproject

Though the form as a whole is double-curved, the parts are all flat laser cut hexagons. Each piece has flanges that could be folded by hand. Those flanges join a panel to another while giving the form structural stability. The geometry of the surface was generated digitally using force-based analysis stimulation. This digital stimulation produced a tessellated geometry.

Courtesy of © Architectural Association Beijing Visiting School 2013 – Aidia Studio – Orproject

With further refinement, their compression-tension studies produced this sweeping surface, composed of hexagonal panels. The panels are designed for simple manufacturing and assembly. Apertures of different sizes are read as spaces between parts. These openings in this sweeping surface allow for areas of lightness and darkness within the space. Though the installation is small, it is a rich study of space and assembly.