Studio AX Showcases Potential of Biomaterials with Fairytale-Inspired Pavilion

Daniela Castillo Monagas

Architecture firm Studio AX showcased the potential of biomaterials with a timber and hemp pavilion at Chart Art Fair. Designed by Jack O’Hagan and Bex Browne of Studio AX, the pavilion was named Elisa and the 11 Swans. It evokes Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale The Wild Swans, where the protagonist, Elisa, has to knit 11 jumpers to save her brothers.

The design was aimed to spark curiosity about the origins and stories behind biomaterials and how they interact with natural, cultural and economic landscapes, in a bid to make users contemplate the value and possibilities of natural materials.

A spruce timber A-frame forms the bar counter and its canopy. The structure has been designed in a way that allows for easy disassembly and reassembly. The timber used has been sourced from a forest near Aarhus using responsible forestry methods to ensure the longevity of the land.

The pavilion features 11 knitted hemp “wings”, which hang from the timber arms. Fabric knitted from nettle fibres and seaweed collected from the Danish coastline have also been used in the fabrication of the pavilion.

Hemp was selected for the wings due to its fast-growing and regenerative properties, as well as its effect on soil. According to the designers, the use of biomaterials such as hemp could transform Danish agriculture and choices in the production of food and materials:

“The properties of the hemp plant could potentially narrate a transformation of the Danish agricultural landscape,” said the designers. “The use of Danish biomaterials for this pavilion allows us to trace these narratives from seed to product, thereby questioning our material choices.”

The pavilion was built as part of Chart Art Fair‘s annual architecture competition, which invited proposals set to the theme of bio architecture this year to provoke a discussion surrounding the symbiotic relationship between architecture and nature.

Also displayed at Chart Art Fair is Dune, a greenhouse-like pavilion that encloses Danish sand and plants to create a “dynamic ecosystem” and a wooden pavilion with a seaweed roof that explores the structural potential of carbon-capturing technologies.

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