Pavilions

A pavilion may often be an open architectural structure located within urban parks, providing shelter or a platform for people to congregate or perform, like this music pavilion or bandstand.

The Archer Pavilion, a striking feature in the formal gardens of Wrest Park in Bedfordshire was built in 1709-11. It was designed by Thomas Archer as a garden or possibly a banqueting house for Henry de Grey, Duke of Kent. Like this example pavilions can be regal structures providing a space to enjoy a view of the gardens.

This is a rare and unique example of an early eighteenth century garden building in the Baroque style. Thomas Archer was a key figure associated with the English Baroque School. He applied architectural detailing and used materials synonymous with the decorative style. 

The cemetery and the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The view within this image looks towards the Stone of Remembrance, also known as the War Stone, at the entrance to the cemetery, flanked by two large portico pavilions. This is a concentration cemetery, created after the Armistice of November 1918, bringing together graves and remains from the nearby battlefields and from several military burial grounds in the area. A total of 2,142 First World War servicemen from the British Commonwealth are buried or commemorated here.

Pavilions like this one, which are more temporary structures, can perform a specific function within their location, and are designed to be visually and structurally striking. This example is situated within a busy part of the city of London. This structure was constructed by the City of London Corporation, within the churchyard of St Paul's Cathedral.

The vision for the Festival of Britain was to create an event that would foster ambition and new ideas after a long period of hardship post World War II. The Festival was a dense site of experimentation and creativity on the South Bank of the River Thames. This view features the Dome of Discovery and the Sea & Ship Pavilion, revealing a pattern of space-age structures and innovative sculptural forms. Hugh Casson, Director of Architecture said: “…it was the most exciting place in London – twenty seven acres of battered buildings and mud flats miraculously transformed into a new world”.

Created as part of a degree project at the Prince´s School of Traditional Arts, London, the award-winning Muqarnas Pavilion was designed by architectural designer Joachim Tantau.

The Muqarnas dome consists of more than 3000 pieces of wood, all hand carved and assembled without nails or screws, just by means of wooden joints. Taking inspiration from Moroccan architecture, in particular the Muqarnas, the three-dimensional geometric pattern that forms the inside of the dome is based on traditional design principles found in Moroccan palaces, as well as in the Alhambra in Spain.

In the summer of 1982 the Tate Gallery commissioned architects Alan Stanton and Peter Rice to design two tents to be erected outside the gallery (now Tate Britain) to provide a temporary space for an exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of the Winsor & Newton artists paint and materials company. The tents included a painting studio, for amateur artists and a coffee shop.

This tent-like pavilion was an air house, a temporary exhibition space designed by the Gourock Ropework Co. Ltd., held up solely by a constant supply of low-pressure air. It could easily be constructed and taken down and demonstrated the product, it was  marketing in full effect.

The International Union of Architects Congress was held on London's South Bank in 1961. It sought a more rigorous integration of art and architecture in its demonstration pavilions and the temporary exhibition spaces designed by the multi-disciplinary architect Theo Crosby.

A unique sculptural pavilion was created as an exhibition and event space for the fashion brand Chanel. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in 2008, the pavilion was inspired by the brand’s distinctive layering of exquisite details within an elegant, cohesive form. 

Driftwood was a sculptural installation made up 28 layers of plywood, which conceal an internal renewable spruce plywood, called Kerto. Its undulating form was initially articulated through a computer-generated script and then manifest through layering, carving and eroding away at each layer of wood. This pavilion, designed by students at the Architectural Association as part of the architecture schools summer pavilion series, created a sensuous and overwhelming spatial effect.