Ball-Nogues studio has completed the ‘healing pavilion’, a structure that provides shade and seating within the new garden of a Los Angeles hospital. The pavilion was created using 2,793 linear feet of 2-inch diameter mild steel tube. In total, 352 individual components were precisely bent with a computer numerically controlled rolling system. Together, the tubes form an occupiable structural shell with no extraneous elements.

Importantly, the pavilion’s intricate patterns, and the shadows they cast on the ground, are meant to capture the imagination and temporarily transport the visitor’s mind away from illness. The irregularity of the tubes create a layer of transparency that provides a semi-sheltered and a very meaningful place for patients and guests to relax.

The project, which was selected as a 2017 FABRICATE finalist, has been designed for both individual occupation and to be shared with another person. It explores the challenges of bending and rolling tube steel to form a design in the shape of a shell. The result features pretty unique three-dimensional curvature of the steel, where each piece is at a fixed distance to its neighbor.