Vert Pavilion – Photo by Ed Reeve, all photos are courtesy of AHEC and LDF.
Design. For the London Design Festival 2024, Stefan Diez’s industrial design studio Diez Office teamed up with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and urban greening specialists OMCºC to create the pioneering Vert pavilion. The modular structure can address temperature rising, heatwaves as well as dwindling biodiversity in cities.
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Photo by Ed Reeve.
10-metre-high timber triangles hold suspended biodegradable sails-like nets, providing a framework for twenty different climbing plant species rooted in textile planters at the base of each net. Below the foliage, sheltered spaces invite visitors to gather and relax. According to the studios, the Vert pavilion can cool its surrounding airspace by up to eight degrees, cast four times more shade and store approximately 25 times more CO2 than a 20-year-old tree.
“The structure performs as a ‘Greening Machine’ while also making urban spaces more harmonious and pleasant to live in from an aesthetic point of view. We wanted Vert to break the monotony of our urban environment.” Stefan Diez explains.
Photo by Ed Reeve.
THE WOOD – To build the main structure, the team used engineered red oak glulam – glue-laminated timber – “a unique type of wood with structural performance and ecological credential,” according to the team. Such a choice continues the sustainable path of the American Hardwood Export Council. In the past fifteen years, AEHEC has presented experimental structural projects showcasing hardwood innovations.
Photo by Petr Krejci.
THE PLANTS – Around twenty different climbing species thrive on the sails. Together, they work to fix carbon dioxide in the air while providing areas of cooling shade below. The plants also create a living ecosystem that enriches local biodiversity and, in particular, serves as a habitat for essential insect populations.
Photo by Petr Krejci.
The choice of climbing plants responds strategically to the climate change emergency. Indeed, they grow many times faster than trees, require less root space, and can be ‘harvested’ annually to be turned into biochar or recycled as raw material for energy generation.
Photo by Petr Krejci.
THE STRUCTURE – The triangular shape allows for a robust construction that uses minimal materials while resisting wind from all angles and absorbing the weight of the plants. The triangle also lends itself to modularity, allowing the system to be extended or to change direction to suit different settings without affecting the structure’s resistance.
Photo by Petr Krejci.
All photos of the Vert Pavilion are by Ed Reeve and Petr Krejci, courtesy of the American Hardwood Export Council and London Design Festival.
Photo by Ed Reeve.
Photo by Petr Krejci.
