Invitation Pavilion

Let's Build!

2016
Event Formation Studio
CAAI School of Architecture
Tutor: Farshad Mehdizadeh

Whenever it is about designing an exhibition, the challenge of suitable presentation of materials, from a technical point of view, comes along with the aesthetic concern of what to propose which neither devalues the pieces nor steals the show.

For the annual Invitation event [1], two ways for the presentation of materials were identified at first: boards in specific sizes and physical models. Accordingly, vertical and horizontal surfaces—for pinning the boards and holding the models—were required to fulfill the technical standards of presentation.

The decision of using students’ projects for their own exhibition, seemed to be valid as it would represent a part of the architectural exhibition in a bigger scale and use it for the sake of the event. Thus, one of the projects in which derived from the idea of the surface was picked, developed on a human scale and adapted with the given space of exhibition. As the project consisted of modular surfaces, joined from edge to edge, Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) chose as the final material.

In fact, the main challenge in this project was the decision for the thickness of MDF sheets since if it was too thin, the boards would bend and if it was too thick, it was not possible to hold them together. Consequently, in a series of trials, the behavior of MDF was examined. Another challenge was to solve the problem of the joints in the edges and fixing the pavilion to the ground which was met by using the tools such as 90-degree metal brackets and long nails.

[1] Invitation is an annual event, an exhibition which presents all the projects resulted from workshops, lectures and academic curriculums in Contemporary Architect Association of Iran (CAAI). Invitation is, in fact, a gathering of those who keep concerning about architecture in Tehran.