On Repeat was a pavilion that we designed for the 2017 London Design Festival. It was born from the idea that it is possible to induce a state of mind known as ‘open awareness’ through performing repetitive manual tasks that allow the mind to wander and creative thinking to flourish. The pavilion – which invited public engagement throughout the festival with a series of participatory workshops – was made using a simple repeating timber structure, within which hung a collaborative installation comprising hundreds of paper lanterns.
On Repeat was our first public installation created in collaboration with the flexible workspace provider The Office Group (TOG). Together we were interested in exploring aspects of work and creativity in a way that connected the brain with the hands. We wanted to take this theoretical idea and apply it to everything from the architectural design of the space itself to the event graphics and programming. A key ambition was also to bring people together through shared activities and provide a social hub for the busy design festival.
To achieve this, it was important to us to create a singular space that would embody the power of frequency and repetition. We were interested in the aesthetic potential of following a simple rule and being rigorously disciplined about it. As a result, the structure was made from a few simple elements applied on repeat, such as the slender timber slats that formed the permeable outer skin and a single size of cross-laminated timber that made up the structural posts and beams. A 9-metre (291⁄2-foot) -long table made of the same cross-laminated timber with simple stools formed the centrepiece for the programme of activities.
Material Used :
1. Facade cladding: Glulam beams and columns with softwood timber battens
2. Flooring: Plywood timber
3. Roofing: Clear polycarbonate sheet
4. Interior lighting: Marset Followme
5. Interior furniture: Cross laminated timber with Artek Aalto stool
