Montalba Architects

Bex & Arts Pavilion

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin

BEX & ARTS PAVILION

Montalba Architects

AREA
480 m²

YEAR
2017

PHOTOGRAPHS
Delphine Burtin

MILLWORKER
Wider Menuiserie SA

WATERPROOFING CONTRACTOR
SIKA

CATEGORY
Pavilion

WOOD CONSTRUCTION
Huber SA

LIGHTING
Neuco Luminaires

FACADE AND FLOORING CONTRACTOR
Eternit

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, Swisspearl, Metsa Woods, NEUCO, T'Alum, Trimble

FOUNDATIONS
Guido SA

CLIENT
BEX & ARTS CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE Trienial

LOCATION
Bex, Switzerland

Text description provided by architect.

As part of the annual Bex & Arts sculpture triennial, the pavilion by Montalba Architects is a temporary structure designed to be a place of information exchange and sharing of technology – a project at the crossroads of art, architecture and new technology – sited within the dramatic Swiss landscape.

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin
Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin

For the past 32 years, the event has transformed Szilassy Park into an outdoor gallery with uninterrupted views of the surrounding Alps. Space serves as a small bookstore, Fablab digital laboratory and visitor center.

Lightweight wooden shelves support the structure, double as exhibition space, and can easily be disassembled and reused for future events.

Narrow black, vertical panels alternate with voids to form the pavilion’s façade and a custom perforation pattern filters the light and reinforces the relationship between the interior and the surrounding landscape.

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin
Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin

The foundations are minimal in order to limit the impact of the construction on the ground and local materials and construction methods drove the detailing and design resolutions.

The structure of the pavilion is mainly made up of panels called LVL, Lamibois, or Kerto®. Composed of extremely thin elements, these high-performance wood panels allow for dimensional optimization of the structure.

Manufactured in two energy self-sufficient factories in Finland, the life cycle analysis of the Kerto indicates low carbon emissions. For the sake of spatial and visual unity, the same panels were used in the manufacturing of the furniture.

Layered on top of the framing, the custom perforated Eternit® panels make it possible to control the light inside the pavilion. The repetition of the blades, their dark color, and the variation of the perforations give the building a unique and impactful presence.

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin
Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin

Eternit cement fibers were used in the façade and roof while the floor covering is a brand-new product, the Swisspearl® FLOOR. This innovative product from Eternit was selected for its lightness, longevity, resistance to fire, and its recyclability.

By nature, the components of the LED light system are slim and discrete, allowing the source to be embedded within the shelves of the pavilion’s vitrines and are virtually invisible.

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin
Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin

Coupled with a system of directional spotlights, the LED modules come with incorporated controls that facilitate lighting management and variation of intensity according to the time of day.

For the sake of spatial and visual unity, the same Kerto wooden panels were used in the manufacturing of the furniture, which can be folded and stored into the central structural element. The pavilion is currently located in the Bex Salt mines, and it remains open to the public.

Bex & Arts Pavilion
© Delphine Burtin


Bex & Arts Pavilion
Floor plan
Bex & Arts Pavilion
Site plan


Bex & Arts Pavilion
Axo
Bex & Arts Pavilion
Axo


Bex & Arts Pavilion
Wall section
Bex & Arts Pavilion
Longitudinal section


Bex & Arts Pavilion
Diagram
Bex & Arts Pavilion
Diagram

Montalba Architects
T +1 310 8281100
Montalba Architects
2525 Michigan Ave # T4, Santa Monica, CA 90404, United States