Interlocking Pavilion

  • 2017

  • Architectural
    Place Design

Designed By:

  • Sawako Kaijima and Research Team

Commissioned By:

SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Digital Manufacturing and Design Center

Designed In:

Singapore

Interlocking Pavilion is composed of structural members with custom designed interlocking joineries, a contemporary interpretation of traditional interlocking timber joints. The conception and physical manifestation of the pavilion and its joint design were enabled by the use of computer-assisted structural analysis and Multi-Material 3D printing.


  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE

  • The pavilion is approx. 2.5m x 4.5m x 2.8m composed of over 155 rods with structurally sound interlocking joints. Compactly packed linear rods were transported to the site and the pavilion was assembled without the use of hand tools. The pavilion presents insights into the traditional forms of design and its evolution into findings of new perspectives for the future architectural detail design.

  • Full 3D Finite Element Contact Analysis and physical testing were done to ensure structural safety of the pavilion.

  • The project takes a view that microstructure and its composition of every material, including that of wood, will be designed and custom tailored to improve its performance and reliability in the near future. These materials are called Functionally Graded Materials and one of the methods to materialise such concepts is accessible today through Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing technologies. We have designed material stiffness and fitting tolerance of the pavilion joints based on structural simulations.

  • photos by Jansen Teo Photography