“To build something that you can see, sit and enjoy.” This, as design coordinator Sarah Benton says, was the aim of the Ultra_FAB Pavilion – a project by 13 Master of Architecture students from the University of Sydney, as a part of Sydney Design 09.

Last Thursday 13 August, the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Architecture welcomed guests to the opening night of the student project. A poetic arrangement of 57 timber frames in the shape of a dynamic bower-bird nest, the Ultra_FAB Pavilion sits at the entry to the Faculty building.

The structure reinforces the edge of the landscape garden, providing seating to gather and enjoy the night. Visitors were invited to walk through the dynamic lights of the pavilion, to experience the four themes of the project: structure, transition, space and surface.

Edward Salib, a member of the design team explains: “the atmosphere surrounding the opening night was overwhelming. Family, friends and supporters all showed a great deal of interest in the project. It was good to see them interacting with the pavilion in the way that we anticipated.”

The purpose of Ultra_FAB Pavilion was to demonstrate the creative potential – and the impact – of digital fabrication. It then became one of the first 1:1 built works for the Digital Design Stream at the Faculty.
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“It is a fantastic experience to be able to relate with the landscape you’re interacting with,” says John Zhao, a visitor and a student of the Faculty. “To have a built form able to serve the needs of potential occupants and become a landscape element is quite a dynamic creation.”

Members of Ultra_FAB’¨Coordinators:’¨Dr Sarah Benton and Damien Butler’¨’¨Design Team:’¨Nguyen Bui, Andrew Chung, Randa El-Kaderi, Guy Hanson, Steven Janssen, Sean Johnson, Jonathan Newton, Alice Nivision, Edward Salib, Sarah Slattery, Georgia Wilson, Jessica Wray and Ella Yanlu Xue,

ultra-fab-pavilion.com

Words: Nikita Notowidigdo