Steampunk Pavilion

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Research Background

The dominant trend within digital architectural design discourse is the investigation of robotics and machine automation to improve the efficiency, precision and repeatability of construction from modular building components. Automation tends to inhibit nuance, craft and human intuition from contributing to design and construction processes, and the complexity of digitizing traditional and analogue craft means that these skills are at risk of being lost. Mixed reality technology has the capacity to combine the precision and data of digital models with the flexibility and intuition of hand craft, with implications for how we design and build buildings.

Research Contribution

The Steampunk Pavilion is a building constructed from bent and twisting hardwood and stainless steel situated in the centre of Tallinn, Estonia. The pavilion was constructed by a team of 12 volunteers over 6 weeks using mixed reality technology to guide in the fabrication and assembly of its unique, intricate and flexible elements. The construction method demonstrated a world-first application of mixed reality to traditional craft techniques of steam-bending, and was the first example of building scale construction with mixed reality.

Research Significance

The pavilion was selected from 137 submissions to the international open two stage competition by a jury of renowned experts. The pavilion served as the main exterior component of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale that included work from internationally esteemed designers and thinkers such as Sou Fujimoto, Sir Peter Cook and Graham Harman. The use of mixed reality in the construction of the project garnered national attention on Estonian TV news and documentaries. Following completion the project featured prominently in design magazines, on design blogs and received further acclaim, winning the Digital Futures Project award, an Iconic award and second prize in the Rethinking the Future awards.