London Timber Pavilion by Schiller Projects, is a project that focuses on the mindful redesign of two outdoor terraces in a metropolitan setting. The terraces were envisioned as outdoor spaces that promote wellness, allowing the client to enjoy more time spent outside while in the city.

The pavilion, located on the first terrace, was crafted by steam bending individual oak petals to create a self-supporting canopy. Each tile is uniquely fabricated from a single standard sheet good, utilizing a single mold for cost efficiency and minimal waste.

This process resulted in unlimited possibilities for differentiation between the tiles. The shape of the tiles and the shell respond directly to light, wind and rain patterns on our site to optimize for comfort and use year-round.

The goal was to create structures that not only enhanced the overall health of the clients, but also promoted methods of hand-crafted and digital fabrication that were wholly sustainable. The project was ultimately a study for self-supporting timber structures, in which designers focused on the elimination of materials that hold more embodied carbon.

The design team, who worked as a 3-way transatlantic operation, strived to reduce the carbon footprint of the project through considered material selections and construction methodologies. Despite the pandemic, this project was manufactured and hand-delivered successfully on site.