Pavilion is situated in a long rectangular garden behind a four-story townhouse in Hoboken, New Jersey. The word pavilion is Latin for "papillion" or “butterfly.” Drawing from the complex structural pattern of butterfly wings, our team came to understand that the pattern was not merely ornamental, but highly efficient: its intricacies are created by its form. The skeletal structure of the Pavilion is a gradient of complex geometric shapes. The entirety of the Pavilion is an assembly of irregular cells shaped by local stresses, constructed of sustainably harvested and FSC-certified Sapele mahogany and stitched into a vertical recycled aluminum vertical armature. Like the wings of the butterfly, these cells are more than just aesthetically appealing; their shape and size respond directly to the forces acting on it. The Pavilion is a simple rectangular form creating an inhabitable threshold from a deck on one side of the townhouse through to a more privatized garden space on the other side. The project is the result of a commission for an outside porch that provided shade and protection from wildlife. The client has a sensitivity to insects, so special screening was necessary to fill the mahogany cells; this also gave the visual depth ...
Pavilion is situated in a long rectangular garden behind a four-story townhouse in Hoboken, New Jersey. The word pavilion is Latin for "papillion" or “butterfly.” Drawing from the complex structural pattern of butterfly wings, our team came to understand that the pattern was not merely ornamental, but highly efficient: its intricacies are created by its form. The skeletal structure of the Pavilion is a gradient of complex geometric shapes. The entirety of the Pavilion is an assembly of irregular cells shaped by local stresses, constructed of sustainably harvested and FSC-certified Sapele mahogany and stitched into a vertical recycled aluminum vertical armature. Like the wings of the butterfly, these cells are more than just aesthetically appealing; their shape and size respond directly to the forces acting on it. The Pavilion is a simple rectangular form creating an inhabitable threshold from a deck on one side of the townhouse through to a more privatized garden space on the other side. The project is the result of a commission for an outside porch that provided shade and protection from wildlife. The client has a sensitivity to insects, so special screening was necessary to fill the mahogany cells; this also gave the visual depth ...