I/Thee forms "frozen river in the sky" with algae-based Iowa pavilion

As part of a series of pavilions installed in an Iowa park system, Arizona design studio I/Thee has created the Puddle Pavilion, which is topped with caps made of "splattered" algae-based resin.

The pavilion is located along a local creek in Bondurant, Iowa, and was created to provide a spot for visitors to "engage more deeply" with the waterside site, according to I/Thee.

"The Puddle Pavilion is a free-form canopy made of algae-based bio-resin, poured, splattered, and flung directly onto the ground without any formwork before being suspended on slender steel columns to create a frozen river in the sky," said the studio.

The pavilion is composed of two volumes that border a stone pathway leading into the adjacent creek. Large boulders located around the pavilion create seating and also form a staircase down to the water.

The pavilions feature custom steel columns that support two bright-yellow, undulating canopies made of bio-resin. The steel supports are affixed to the undersides, while additional supports connect the columns above the canopies.

According to the studio, the canopies are made of resin made up of 56 per cent bio-based content made from algae-derived oil, which is produced by materials company Checkerspot.

The team mixed the material by hand before pouring it onto the floor and allowing it to harden in its puddle form.

"The [Pavilion] is not a metaphor: it is not like a puddle, but rather it is a puddle – made by carefully poured layers of algae-based resin, left to find their own forms under the influence of natural forces such as gravity, surface tension, and fluid dynamics, as well as environmental variables including temperature and wind speed," said the studio. 

The studio explained the technique contrasts the "top down" approach often employed by architects and designers "issuing plans" and instead embraced an organic, unpredictable component in creating the pavilion.

It is the second pavilion designed and built by I/Thee as part of the ARTocka Trail Loop, an initiative that aims to activate local greenspace with public art installations.

Last year, the studio completed The Dining Room as part of the project, a pavilion made of rammed earth and bright blue picnic benches.

Over recent years, designers and studios have been experimenting with algae, including a kit made by Checkerspot that allows designers to make components from algae-based plastics and carbon-neutral concrete made of algae developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The photography is by Dug Rosse

Project credits:

Project leads: Neal Lucas Hitch, Kristina Fisher, Martin Hitch
Engineering: Schlaich Bergermann Partner

The post I/Thee forms "frozen river in the sky" with algae-based Iowa pavilion appeared first on Dezeen.