After last years floods, Thailand is now in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure, manufacturing and construction bases. As a public showcase for a recent national exposition, Architectkidd had the opportunity to explore new possibilities for polymer materials in the Bridgestone Pavilion.
The starting point of the pavilion design were the interior spaces, building heights and site boundaries. Another issue was managing the continuous flow of visitors from entrance, exhibitions, to exit. These conditions were digitized volumetrically and merged to form the overall building, with the exterior a result of optimizing the building footprint while minimizing extraneous elements such as additional edges, corners, and leftover spaces.
During the development of the Bridgestone Pavilion, a variety of polymer materials was explored. Bridgestone supplied materials based on its in house expertise such as EPDM Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer and TPO Thermoplastic Olefinand EVA Ethylene Vinyl Acetate. However, the application of these base materials to building design was not yet determined.
The design team developed an iterative selection process that allowed to test a variety of polymers for different building uses. Results from mockups, models and prototypes led the project team from one possible option to another, ultimately resulting in the final materials solution for the building.