a[RAW]rchitecture: SHSH_Pavillion du Bonheur Provisoire (Beer Crate Pavillion)

NAME: Pavillion du Bonheur Provisoire (Beer Crate Pavillion)
ARCHITECT: SHSH
CLIENT: Atomium asbl
LOCATION: Brussels
DATE: 2008

PROGRAM: Temporary pavilion to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the “1958 Universal World Exhibition” in Brussels intended to house film projections and exhibitions recounting the mood and atmosphere of the original event.

CONCEPT: Positioned in across from the Atomium building in dialogue with the hallmark building of the original exhibition, the SHSH pavilion was designed to encapsulate notions of progress + universality through reusability. In the architects’ own words, “The sense of the temporary can only be used when it is free of waste, the pavilion is built using an everyday and ephemeral component which after the event returns to its daily use. This project was an exercise in how a common item can transcend itself and become architecture, rather than a mere object or even a mere building.”

EXECUTION: The Pavillion du Bonheur Provisoire (Beer Crate Pavillion) is a superb example of RAWrchitecture because it takes a common everyday item, the beer crate, and uses it in a manner alternative to its original purpose. Through the manipulation of innate tectonic characteristics and relationships, SHSH takes an item that is traditionally meant to be stacked in a vertical plane, and gives it depth + volume in a 3 dimensional plane. The calculated stacking of containers also reveals varying degrees of transparency within the design and the RAWmaterial, bringing light into the pavilion for a surprisingly ephemeral effect. An added bonus to the design of this project is that it can be deconstructed and all of its constituent parts can be returned to their original purpose, further illustrating the ingenuity of its designers and its success as a RAWrchitectual project. In sum, 33,000 empty beer crates were deployed for the construction of the pavilion and all were returned safely :)