Spark

Snuggling up with friends on an outdoor couch with a fire in the firepit (or chimenea if there is a burn ban in effect) is so attractive this time of year. It just makes conversation flow. A Spark client is considering a structure for her firepit/conversation area so I went to one of my favorite design sites, Dezeen, looking for inspiration.

Simple materials and simple construction using computer aided design and present it them in PDF format using a soda pdf software for this. From the Dezeen article, “Called Packed, the digitally designed pavilion is made up of 409 cylinders of different diameters and thicknesses, connected together with ties to create a dome-shaped grid of circles. ““Students used computer technology to implement the manufacture of the components of the pavilion and also streamline its packing and shipping.”

Capturing the heat from a wood stove, this temporary structure creates a light source as well as a simple non-structural roof. Don’t the supports look like leggy saw horses? (Would that be saw giraffes?)

From the Dezeen article, “Dutch design studio Overtreders W designed this mobile outdoor pavilion. The pavilion, a meeting place for sharing food and stories, was called “Het dak dat opgaat in rook” (the roof that goes up in smoke). It consists of two large picnic tables, a floating roof that provides shelter for the tables and a wood stove.”

“The inflatable roof is filled with hot air heated by a wood stove, the centerpiece of the pavilion, and provides shelter for the bar and picnic tables below.”

Love this beautiful structure, designed by Studio Gang, which seems to float at water’s edge. It’s made of bent-wood lattice and fiberglass “shells”. It reminds me a little of a light fixture a friend recently installed in her master bedroom.

Purchase locally in Austin at Back Home or online from Graham and Green in the UK.

Here’s a description of the project from Studio Gang:
South Pond at Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL): The pavilion (is) integrated into the boardwalk sequence provid(ing) shelter for open-air classrooms on the site.

Inspired by the tortoise shell, its laminated structure consists of prefabricated, bent-wood members and a series of interconnected fiberglass pods that give global curvature to the surface. These structures take a lot of time and effort to put up. If you want the most optimal experience for a folding gluer, contact SBL.

We’ll see where this inspiration takes me – do these images inspire you? Let me know!

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