© Southern California Institute of Architecture/ Oyler Wu Collaborative
At the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, a temporary pavilion is traditionally erected for the annual graduation ceremony. In 2011, the “Netscape” structure was designed to provide a shady venue to seat 900 people. Analogue and digital models were used to develop a complex roof with sails sloping down towards the west to screen off the evening sun. Looking upwards, one sees a two-layer network spanned over six steel lattice girders that are anchored in point foundations and cantilevered out on one side. The girders are linked by a longitudinal beam. The net is woven, not knotted, so that it has greater flexibility and can better adapt to the form of the structure. Fixed to the cables with ties, the sails are spanned between the two layers of the net and have a curvilinear form. Two years later, for the 40th anniversary celebrations of the university, a completely new skin was created for the structure. This bears the project name “Stormcloud”. The load-bearing construction of the former pavilion underwent minor modifications and was covered with an elastic plastic-fibre fabric. The roof surfaces flow into three expressively curved funnel-like openings.