A stand-alone modular pavilion for hosting outdoor events. The pavilion was conceived as a project that would echo and complement its setting between a railway line and busy main road. Its form was driven by the geometry of the existing Victorian railway viaduct, extending the usable sheltered area from a pair of arches out onto the forecourt. The client’s initial idea was for an off-the-shelf tensile solution, but this was an irresistible opportunity to design something bespoke for the site, creating a unique destination that the client could promote alongside their nearby Asylum Chapel in the competitive wedding venue market. The pavilion is structurally efficient, enabling an expressive geometry by using a simple series of repeated elements and nodal connections. Breaking down the large span into sets of smaller, lighter elements, easily fabricated and assembled by hand, helped to manage the budget restrictions by using widely-available building components and reduced build-time and disruption to the resident artists. There is a raw palette of timber, galvanised metal and polycarbonate. The legs are integrated with timber planters providing sufficient weight to anchor the pavilion. Over time, plants will cover the structure to create an inner city oasis; an extraordinary London location. Photo credit: Ben Blossom