Exhibit of the GEO∙GAMI pavilion @ Smart Living Lab
© 2021 EPFL, Sonia Villegas
The GEO∙GAMI pavilion is a free-form shell made of discarded skis and interwoven panels. Making the most of the inherent mechanical properties of skis, the pavilion is a manifesto for the "upcycling" of waste materials, a key strategy for the development of a circular economy.
The pavilion is the result of a collaborative research project led by doctoral student Nicolas Montagne, during which new computational methods, combining differential geometry and parametric construction, were developed to explore the family of free forms that avoids any torsion in the skis, ensures the flat overlapping of crossing curves, and allows their seamless cover by quadrangular panels, while controlling upstream the final mechanical behaviour of the structure. The project demonstrates that the definition of "waste" is relative and that a product abandoned by some can at any time feed new loops of use for others.
The GeoGami takes its name from the combination of a network of GEOdesic curves and a surface that can be unfolded and folded like an oriGAMI. The resulting project questions the classical opposition between the concepts of low-tech and high-tech, highlights the capacity of waste to serve a structurally demanding role, and contributes to the characterisation of an aesthetic field specific to reuse. The acoustic qualities of the pavilion will be evaluated in situ during concerts by the Fribourg band Loretta Gun.
The pavilion is presented to the public on July 1st, 2021 at the Smart Living Lab's PopUp facilities. It will host a concert by the Fribourg band Loretta Gun at 6.30 pm. The pavilion will be dismantled on July 5th, 2021, before being rebuilt in other places outdoor.
Built in the PopUp workshop of the Smart Living Lab, the project is a collaboration between the Navier laboratory of the Ecole des Ponts, ParisTech and the Structural Xploration Lab at EPFL.
Design: Nicolas Montagne, Cyril Douthe, Olivier Baverel, Corentin Fivet
Construction assistance: Charles Haskell, Maxence Grangeot, Claude-Alain Jacot, Krittika Walia