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Portalen Pavilion

©Ricard Estay

Closeup of the timber gridshell ©Ricard Estay

ARCHITECTURE

Map13 Barcelona
Edyta Augustynowicz
Summum Engineering

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Summun Engineering

LOCATION

Norrköping, Sweden

STATUS

Completed June 2020

Architects Map13 Barcelona along with engineers Summum Engineering and Edyta Augustynowicz recently completed the Portalen Pavilion, a lightweight timber gridshell, located in Norrköping, Sweden. It serves as a new space for cultural activities and meetings initiated by the Statens Konstråd (Public Art Agency), collaborating with Norrköpings Konstmuseum and Portalen. Summum Engineering used Karamba3D during the initial design phases to study different design options and interations.

Text by Summum Engineering:

The Portalen Pavilion consists of two layers of timber laths in two directions, forming a grid. The grid can be built as a flat mat on the ground, and then lifted to form a three-dimensional curved surface that works as an efficient shell structure. The grid is supported by four curving edges meeting at the four corners. These open arches made of glued laminated timber. Instead of deploying the grid, the contractor opted to build the grid lath by lath, using the edges and a temporary support as guidework. After bracing the grid with steel cables, the entire shell was covered by polycarbonate sheets. This cladding allows for light to pass through, transforming the perception of the interior and the exterior space.