Pure Tension Pavilion in Milan, Italy by Synthesis Design +

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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.

Pure Tension Pavilion in Milan, Italy by Synthesis Design + Architecture

June 17th, 2014 by Sumit Singhal

Article source: Synthesis Design + Architecture

The Pure Tension Pavilion is a portable, solar – powered tensile membrane structure commissioned by Volvo Car Italia for the new Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid electric car which not only charges the car but also flat-packs to fit in the trunk of the car and assembles in less than one hour.

Architects: Synthesis Design + Architecture
Project: Pure Tension Pavilion
Location: Milan, Italy
Photography: © Fabric Images / © Volvo Italy
Structural Engineer: Greg Otto, Buro Happold
Fabricator: Jason Gilette, Fabric Images

It is an experimental structure that, similar to a concept car, is a working prototype that speculates on the future of personal mobility and alternative energy sources while also exploring digital design methodologies and innovative structural solutions.

The pavilion is an expression of the tensioned equilibrium between its elastic membrane skin and rigid perimeter frame. The entire pavilion collapses neatly into two 65”x15” x15” ‘B-cases’ and weighs 150lbs in total and can be assembled and taken down in just under an hour by a team of two to three people.

The pavilion can recharge a fully depleted car in about 12 hours in optimum sun conditions. 252 lightweight flexible photovoltaic panels are embedded within an applied graphic pattern of vinyl tiles along the mesh. The PV pattern is the result of intensive solar incidence analysis on the structure that found the average annual solar incidence of the skin for 360 degrees of orientation and mapped PV locations to the areas of greatest average annual solar incidence.

Image Courtesy © Synthesis Design + Architecture

Contact Synthesis Design + Architecture

Tags: Italy, Milan

Category: Pavilion

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