The Pavilion at Portobello Dock; how to make concrete beautiful

This year Timothy Hatton Architects are collaborating with Concrete Canvas to construct a striking free-standing pavilion for the London Design Festival. The structure, which will be located next to the THA offices by the Ladbroke Grove canal, experiments with form and shape. Concrete Canvas is an award winning innovative new textile material which hardens, once saturated with water, to form solid structures within two hours.
The Pavilion will be designed by the same THA team who received an enthusiastic reception at the 2010 London Design Festival for their unusual ‘Peep Show’ exhibition.
The Pavilion will house an exhibition of structural designs proposed by THA staff, each showing ways in which the canvas could be used to quickly create concrete shelters in areas of disaster. Visitors are invited to view the designs and engage with the architects as part of a discussion which addresses an increasing need in our densely populated world and uncertain climate.
Timothy Hatton Architects, whose portfolio includes art galleries and private houses, have challenged themselves to design a structure that pushes the boundaries of material in relation to form. The fact that it is a temporary structure enables the team to be radical in their experimentation whilst keeping in mind the ultimate aim of translating their ideas into viable solutions for permanent structures. The pavilion is located in the courtyard of Portobello Dock, W10.