cORAL pAVILION

This project explores material constraint and spatial expression through the design and fabrication of a full-scale pavilion constructed solely from cardboard. Students were tasked with developing a structurally self-supporting system using a limited kit of parts-standardized cardboard sheets-while addressing issues of transportability, assembly logic, and site specificity. Located adjacent to the children's area of a public library-anchored by a prominent fish tank at the entry-the pavilion adopts a marine-inspired language, translating the visual and spatial qualities of coral reefs into architectural form. A waffling strategy was deployed not merely as a fabrication method but as a structural and tectonic system, transforming two-dimensional material into a volumetric, inhabitable field. The interlocking grid provided both rigidity and spatial porosity, creating a playful yet robust environment scaled to its younger users. Executed collaboratively by a six-person team, the pavilion foregrounds the architectural potential of low-cost, ephemeral materials while reinforcing principles of modularity, material efficiency, and tectonic clarity.