Barn Again Pavilion
BARN AGAIN PAVILION
Thiss Studio
ARCHITECTS
Thiss Studio
DESIGN TEAM
Thiss Studio
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Bollinger+grohmann Aps
CLIENT
Copenhagen Architecture Biennial
MAIN CONTRACTOR
Winther A/s
PHOTOGRAPHS
Maja Flink
AREA
25 m²
YEAR
2025
LOCATION
Copenhagen, Denmark
CATEGORY
Cultural Architecture, Pavilion
English description provided by the architects.
THISS Studio and Tom Svilans repurpose an ancient barn for the Inaugural 2025 Copenhagen Architecture Biennale.
London-based architecture and design practice THISS Studio, in collaboration with architect Tom Svilans, announces the opening of Barn Again at the inaugural 2025 Copenhagen Architecture Biennale.
Barn Again opens in Gammel Strand, Copenhagen, and responds to the festival theme of 'Slow Down', examining what a great deceleration of the global system might look, feel, and sound like on a local scale.
THISS Studio and Tom Svilan's concept is a timber pavilion of stacked beams tapering up to a pointed form, constructed entirely from salvaged timber sourced from disused Norwegian barns.
The structure exposes, reconfigures, and layers the history of its salvaged beams. Weathered surfaces, aged joinery, and old connection details remain visible, telling the story of the wood's first life. New incisions and precisely machined joints are overlaid, ushering in the timber's next phase of life.
Barn Again offers a powerful reflection on craft, reuse, and sustainability in contemporary architecture, asking passers-by to slow down and reflect on the pace of their own busy day-to-day lives.
At its core, Barn Again is a meditation on slowness, inviting visitors to pause, gather, and reflect within a space that stretches the lifespan of its material components.
THISS Studio and Tom Svilans won the commission via an international competition. Their brief was to create a pavilion within a busy thoroughfare that could offer shelter and space for a programme of events throughout the Biennial.
The stacked timber enclosure offers both openness, through spaced joints and thresholds, and intimacy, with sheltered seating and a kiosk for small gatherings.
THISS Studio and Tom Svilans have considered slowness in the sensory experience of Barn Again. Three Censers, designed by British Design studio EJM, are suspended within the pavilion to create a calm, meditative environment.
A bespoke scent and incense cone have also been formulated in collaboration with B Corp skincare brand, the company formerly known as Haeckels, renowned for their pioneering work with natural materials and olfactory design.
The designers have considered the whole life cycle of the timber beyond its time as a pavilion and barn. Working with Bollinger+Grohmann and Winther AS, the structure remains demountable and reusable well into the future.
By offering a place for reflection and communal assembly, Barn Again embodies slowness not just in its materials and construction but also in its occupation.
It asks visitors to suspend time, mirroring the way the project suspends and extends the life of the timber itself.
Sash Scott, Co-Founder, THISS Studio, said: 'It is incredible to be a part of the first Copenhagen Architecture Biennial with Barn Again, working with Tom to bring an important idea of deceleration to life within the programme.
Slowing down may be the wider theme of the festival, but it's a practice we should all remember; to design and live with intention is surely a good path to a more sustainable and connected world.
' Tom Svilans, architect, said: 'Original Norwegian barn timbers, with their integral wood joints and dowels, embody slow, considered craftsmanship.
In Barn Again, tradition is overlaid with delicate modern detailing, respecting and extending the timber's story. It is wonderful to see this on the international stage.'
