__

JORDAN PAVILION Egypt Expo ‘18

5th Year

Course: Design Studio VII Professor: Assoc. Prof. Hossam Salama Date: Spring 2015/16 Location: The German University in Cairo (Cairo, Egypt)

Throughout the 21st and 20th centuries, Jordan has been an active participant in the global effort to receive refugees; with about half of the population of Jordan being of Palestinian descent, receiving many Iraqi refugees in the nineties and recently with the multitude of Syrian refugees coming in.

Due to its location in the Middle East, Jordan can be described as a haven in the midst of chaos.

I decided to emulate this reality by finding ways to represent the qualities of refuge and containment architecturally.

The pavilion mainly consists of two entities: the roof and the blocks. Seen from afar the helium-inflated flat roof held down by cables can be seen hovering atop, signalling some sort of refuge by creating shade and defining space.

Monolithic enclosed blocks act as second level of refuge offering complete shelter in a more human-scale enclosure. Varying blocks with no dictated path allows user to freely explore different spatial configurations. A network of passages and stairs punctures through blocks allowing different perspectives of the same blocks as well as freedom to reach areas where roof and construction can be observed up close.

Pneumatic Roof Structure -Compartments filled with low-density gas. (Helium) -Perforations to allow sunlight entry.

-Grounded by steel cables attached to blocks.

-Minimal construction.

-Reversed load direction.

-Easily and quickly detached and reassembled in different locations.

1

1

Varying proportions of blocks with no dictated path allows user to freely explore different spatial configurations.