Exploring bio-parametric solution-based design process for an ephemeral pavilion

This research proposes an experimental design approach to design an ephemeral pavilion located at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The Serpentine Pavilions Programme functions as an experimentation laboratory and, at the same time, public and event spaces, enabling architects to expose their projects and work methodologies. Thus, the methods of Biomimicry and Parametric Design were combined to develop the pavilion. While the first one was used to create an ephemeral pavilion based on the Sartorius muscle, the second was responsible for generating the parametric model from a fast and intuitive manipulation code capable of exploring shape variations. This work explores the solution-based method approached by Badarnah (2012) based on a predefined problem (the pavilion project) and only after that seek some natural inspiration. Firstly, it was investigated the anatomy of the Sartorius muscle. Subsequently, with the domain of the solution, the parametric insertion of the shape was computationally performed. The anatomical study of the sartorius muscle revealed functions such as flexion, abduction, lateral rotation of the thigh, and medial rotation of the knee. Thus, the architectural choices reflect both its narrow and elongated morphology of the muscle and flexibility and rotation aspects. The pavilion also considered the previous Serpentine Pavilions regarding attributes such as area, height, and materials, which with other parameters may be changed using the code implemented in Grasshopper.