EPHEMERALITY

Two Weeks Intensive Project

ACADEMIC TERM: HONOUR STUDIO 2 | 2022

PROFESSOR: GUILLERMO FERNANDEZ-ABASCAL

TYPE: PUBLIC PAVILION

SITE: WINDSOR, NSW

With an inspiration of Anne Holtrop and his exploration of materials and their natural construction methods, the Ephemerality Pavlion seeks to embrace and celebrate the rising and lowering waterlevel, through an intricate experimentation of materials.

The site, Windsor, is a heavily flood prone area due to their low elevation and close proximity to the Hawkesbury River, as such, the residents experience flooding in clusters every few years.

Ephemerality will be built with, and on top of the existing landslide. Through the unique construction method, the structure reflects the history of the site, and the damage which is caused by the Flood.

A contrast is created within the materiality chosen for the structure. Concrete is used for the flooring, and is mixed with a decreasing concentration of recycled brick pieces as each layer of platforms and stairs are casted. This not only serves to preserve the original materials of the structure, but to also represent a change of waterlevel within the material itself. As the water level rises, the water creeps within. The number of stairs architecturally marks the elevation of the water.

FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) was chosen to be the roof of the pavilion, and is molded by the shape of the sinkhole. From afar, the roof retains the archaic appearance of the sinkhole, disguising the structure into the landscape itself. As FRP is weather and water resistant, the structure is designed to embrace the submersion of water. A thin and lightweight material is chosen specifically for the roof, intentionally allowing damages and imperfections to show as it experiences more floods, physically marking the events into the structure itself.

The contrast between the thickness of the stairs, to the thickness of the roof highlights the contrast in structural integrity between the lightweight fiberglass, and the concrete flooring.