Phytoplankton Pavilion - Portfolio

PHYTOPLANKTON PAVILION

A bio-inspired structure exploring innova ve ways to a ract people’s a en on toward global warming, installed in St James’s Park, one of the most iconic and historic loca ons in London.

This project aims to strengthen people’s understandingthattheoceanandhumansare inextricablyinterconnected,withdesigningan interac ve pavilion to engage users’ senses, focusing on the ocean and phytoplankton.

The ocean sustainslife on Earthand everyone is responsible for caring for the ecosystem. Therefore, three-dimensional space rather than simply two-dimensional informa on was designed to educate Individuals about the importance of the ocean and these photosynthesis marine creatures.

Ocean phytoplankton is responsible for 70% of Earth’s oxygen produc on. However, some scien sts believe that phytoplankton levels have declined by 40% since 1950 due to the warming of the ocean. Phytoplankton are extremely important to the Earth’s carbon cycle; they help to process and store carbon. Even small changes in the growth of phytoplanktonmayaffectatmosphericcarbon dioxide concentra ons, which would cause further climate change and speed up the warming of surface temperatures. Humans can protect plankton and help overall ocean healthbydecreasingpollu on,overharves ng, and habitat destruc on (Na onal Geographic Society, 2012).

The role of this unique urban space in the center of thedensestructureofthemedievaloldtownofSeville provides a wide variety of differen ated ac vi es, fromthepresenta onoflocalhistorytorecrea onand shopping. The well developed infrastructure makes the place very alive as a des na on for tourists and for ci zens of the city.

The polyurethane-coated mber structure grows out of the level of the archaeological excava on as a logo for the city. The mul -func onal range of uses of the “Metropol Parasol” ini ates a dynamic development of cultural and commercial facili es in the heart of Seville (Mayer, 2012).

I took inspira on from the changing lengths and thicknesses of components, which enabled me to fabricate the pavilion in la ce style.

Fig.01 (Previous page) Bioluminescent Phytoplankton Surround Swimmers in Circles Of Blue Light, 2016

Fig.02 (top le )

A close-up image of Metropol Parasol la ce structure, 2011

Fig.03 (top right) Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain

All these nega ve spaces are influenced by buildings around them.

A VIEW OF THE DELICATE SHADOWS & LIGHTS, SIMULATING OCEAN LIGHTRAY

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Trying various contour space, thickness offset, sphere and oval diameter and height to reach a suitable design.

I faced many challenges throughout the design and implementa on process, including:

a. The 6 mm CNC machine’s accuracy for cu ng

b. Simula ng the feeling of ocean and phytoplankton into spa al space

c. Connec ng inside with the elements on the site and the nature around it

d. Intersec on cu ng elements in angle

e. Some notch were cu ng each other in half

f. Failure to a ach mirrors with different adhesives

g. Fragile 3D printed curve parts

h. Small laser-cu ng bed dimensions

To overcome these challenges, I trialled several construc on methods in an itera ve process, like:

1. Tes ng design of integrated curved plates into straight parts to tackle the intersec on-cu ng problem

2. Doubled the Y-contour width to solve cu ng is noches

3. Subtrac ng noches intersec ons meet each other at a 90-degree angle

4. Choosethescale basedon these dimensions because the plates inthe 1:10 scalemust belaser-cut together

5. Changing rota on of curve parts for the 3D prin ng process to have clean and stable pieces

6. Using paper tape and UHU at the same me overnight

MATERIALS

Red Acrylic 3mm

MDF 3mm

Acrylic mirror 1mm

Clear Acrylic 3mm

A VIEW FROM THE ENTRANCE OF PAVILION AND THE MALL ROAD AT THE BACK

A NORTH FACING VIEW OF THE PAVILION OVERLOOK BY THE BUCKINGHAM PALACE

A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE PAVILION AND ST JAMES’S LAKE

A VIEW FROM THE PAVILION WITH THE LONDON EYE IN THE BACKGROUND

DIMENSIONS

This pavilion has 10 person capacity without any seating inside

Scale 1:30

1. Extrac ng curve surfaces

2. Extruding the inner edges to make surfaces

3. Making surfaces for faces to make polysurfaces

4. Contouring the shapes to make ready for 3D prin ng

MDF 2mm

for watching films and anima on please follow this link: For accessing to my blog:

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

All figures are copyrighted by the author unless noted as follows:

Fig.01 Jh, S. (2016) Halo effect: Bioluminescent Phytoplankton Surround Swimmers in Circles Of Blue Light. [photograph] At: h ps://www.flickr.com/photos/138048964@N02/27766012441/in/faves-194960177@N03/ (Accessed 09/01/2023).

Fig.02 &03 HUFTON +CROW (2011) Metropol Parasol. [photograph] At:h ps://divisare.com/projects/166459j-mayer-h-arup-hu on-crow-metropol-parasol (Accessed 09/01/2023).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Na onal Geographic Society (2012) Save the plankton, breathe freely.At: h ps://www.na onalgeographic.org/ ac vity/save-the-plankton-breathe-freely/ (Accessed 09/01/2023).

Mayer.H,J.andCrow,H.+.(2012)J.MAYER.H,arup,hu on+crow· Metropol Parasol.At:h ps://divisare.com/ projects/166459-j-mayer-h-arup-hu on-crow-metropol-parasol (Accessed 09/01/2023).

Lindsay, C. (2020) Biomimicry enables architects to make ‘posi ve impact’ on the environment says Michael Pawlyn. At: h ps://www.dezeen.com/2020/10/22/michael-pawlyn-explora on-architecture-dassaultsystemes-video/ (Accessed 23/11/2022).

Pawlyn, M. (2019) Biomimicry in Architecture. (s.l.): Routledge.