Adjustable Pavilion

“Like the bud of a flower, change forces you to surrender to growth. It makes you vulnerable. It requires you to enlarge, expand and become bigger. Like the oxygen provided with each breath, we are denied its benefits until we relax and breathe in.”  - Stella Payton

Transportable buildings have been around for many years with their popularity as a model for housing tending to ebb and flow with the waves of economic and environmental flux.

Australia, as an island removed from the rest of the world has not suffered from ebbs and flows as much as other nations. However, this reality produces other sorts of problems, namely idleness and contentment.

Where other continents are forced, out of necessity, to look at optimising their living arrangements, as a general public, we have become somewhat lazy in our willingness to adopt efficient new sustainable modes of habitation and architecture. Ninety-seven percent of all housing stock in Australia is made up of 'project homes' that are incredibly unsustainable to build and consume vast amounts of natural resources and energy.

This design attempts to address a number of these issues through looking at space as being extendable and versatile. The flexibility of habitation adjusted due to natures day-to-day offerings.  

The design concept draws inspiration from the humble Russian Matryoshka Doll that continually reveals a smaller version of itself when opened. Our building, like the toy, makes sense from a transportable perspective as four units can be moved at any one time.

In Australia, we are able to move a modular structure without lead-car support if the buildings’ size is under 12m long x 3.5m wide x 3.5m high. Four compressed units fit easily into these dimensions. Once set in place a single unit can achieve 6 different combinations of indoor/outdoor configuration. For example the bedroom converts from a secure internal room to an external day-bed, or the living space extends into an external courtyard. The ability to adjust the building depending on the weather allows for sensory living. This coupled with the integration of reuse building material paves the way for an environmentally conscious building that anticipates the beauty of outside on a daily basis.