FARINA PAVILION

PAVILION FOR TRADE SHOW AND EXHIBITIONS DESIGN FOR FARINA FORMWORKS. installed in Las Vegas

The design of the Farina Casseforme pavilion is a provocative composition which transforms fragments of temporary construction-- the steel formworks panels-- into built architecture. the formwork system becomes architecture through metaphorical translation of the steel fragments into architectural language; thus the decision of designing the entire pavilion with the formwork system.

The pavilion was designed to introduce the Italian company Farina Formworks (Farina Casseforme), to the U.S. concrete formwork market by debuting at the international show  “The World of Concrete” in Las Vegas in January of this year.

The heavy panels evoke a sensation of dynamic lightness. these 400-pound panels, originally produced to hold and form tons of fluid concrete up to a pressure of 80kN/m2, appear buoyant as they float and fold in a surreal setting. With the applied graphics, they are reminiscent of the billboards along the streets of Los Angeles. However, these “billboards” with their controversial and ironic slogan form a deconstructed cluster suspended in the air.

The modular system of exposed structural galvanized steel, clamps, tie rods, and the phenolic resin-finished plywood are used out of context and become a new architectural language. The installation is composed of seven different folded and fragmented portals of panels staggered to create a dynamic composition. The pavilion has a foot print of 30’x20’ and a maximum height of 21’. In the front, the first portal folds down to become a display table for brochures and flyers. In the middle, the panels curl inward becoming an 8ft long desk to receive the guests of the show. In the back, the last portal bends on the ground to become the formworks for a corner wall setting, thus displaying the typical modular connection of concrete wall forms. Minimal linear fluorescent lights are hidden within the structure and highlight the dramatic angled and fractured configuration of the panels.

Structurally, the pavilion implements a series of steel “angled arches” which support the panels. Each arch has a double channel section welded to follow the configuration of the portals. The panels are fixed on the arches with universal fixing bolts. The portals are braced to each other by the connection of adjacent panels by quick acting clamps. All the steel elements and accessories are hot deep galvanized.

 The idiosyncratic aesthetic and mechanics of the formwork system create a portable architecture which will now tour the world in different trade shows.