Parks are great. Most people have been to one and there is usually something for everyone to do. That is why people gather in parks. There might be shade which is a welcome relief on a hot summer day. Sometimes there is grass which can cool the air, and feels great on bare feet.
Parks are also places where people gather. Sometimes it is a small group of friends or a large group of strangers. Their plans may include a whole day of events, or a park is a convenient place to start an activity. What can you, as a designer, provide a park visitor that would make their experience more useful and more enjoyable.
Design Challenge Background
One thing which is useful is some kind of pavilion. Parks have plenty of landscape, but you always need something to set a grill on, or hand out materials for passersby. You always see tents but tables are always leaning over and if it rains people have to stand in the mud. Yuck.
So the client wants a pavilion. They want to make sure their hot dogs do not roll off the grill and their sandals stay mud free. One more challenge is they want to pack up their pavilion and take it home at the end of the day.
Design Challenge Brief
Your challenge is to design a park pavilion that is deployable, visible, can be packed in a van, and then stored in a small storage room. The structure should be easy to assemble and even include some kind of temporary storage while it is in use. It should include places to sit and somewhere to add information either on signs that can be swapped out or digitally.
Design Program / Parameters
The overall area of the deployed pavilion should be no bigger than 12’x12’.
There should be some seating and storage. A user should be able to level the platform on an irregular surface. You do not have to include steps, the main platform should be as close to the ground as possible but you can add a second platform level.
The final design must be visible and clearly branded. This can be through form, color, or materials. The pavilion must be able to disassemble and be transported. Pieces can fold and stack on each other.