Surface Design Award Winner: Kebony KREOD Sculpture

KREOD, a portable wooden structure revealed in London last September, has recently been recognized with a Surface Design Award for Temporary Structure. Designed by Pavilion Architecture, KREOD is constructed of Kebony, a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood and preservative treated wood.

The venue sculpture currently forms the centerpiece of Peninsula Square, London's busy public space between the Emirates Air Line and The O2 Arena on Greenwich Peninsula. From March 5-7, KREOD will form the media and visitor center for Ecobuild at Excel.

Project Description from KREOD:

KREOD is a unique, portable venue where companies, organisations and brands can present themselves in beautiful, powerful ways within a flexible, functional and dynamic space.

We believe that no two events are the same. The ideal venue should be capable of infinite adaptability to provide a unique setting for each new experience. It should resonate with the high quality and high expectations of its users.

KREOD will form the centrepiece of the busy public space, Peninsula Square between the Emirates Air Line and The O2 Arena – the official venue for the London 2012 Olympic Gymnastics, Basketball Finals and Wheelchair Basketball.

The brainchild of Chun Qing Li, Managing Director of Pavilion Architecture, KREOD is an innovative architectural sculpture, organic in form, environmentally-friendly and inspired by nature. Resembling three seeds, these three 20m2 pods combine through a series of interlocking hexagons to create an enclosed structure that is not only magnificently-intricate but secure and weatherproof. KREOD functions beautifully both as an architectural landmark and an imaginative exhibition space – its three pods can be combined in a variety of configurations or installed as free-standing forms.

Using state-of-the-art parametric design tools and digital fabrication, KREOD brings together some of the most talented designers, engineers and innovative materials to challenge current thinking and showcase sustainable and forward-thinking building methods. Structural engineers Ramboll UK worked alongside geometry consultant Evolute, TensileFabric, Serge Ferrari, Targetti Poulsen and AR18 to deliver this unique eye-catching structure.

KREOD consists of three compartments and has a footprint of 60 square metres (3 x 20 square metres). It is 3.2 metres high. The structural design aims to show a sustainable and forward thinking building method in the digital age, challenging the new way of thinking, designing, engineering, fabricating and installing. The design will have the practical considerations for transportation, store, disassembly and reassembly i.e. stackable components, modularity.

Project Credits:

Client: Li Investments
Designer: Chun Qing Li at Pavilion Architecture
EcoTimber: Kebony
Developer: Li Investments
Project Manager: Li Investments
Main Contractor: Li Investments
Engineer: Ramboll
Geometry Consultant: Evolute
Tensile Material: Serge Ferrari
Tensile Manufacturer: TensileFabric
Location: Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK

Find more photos of KREOD in the image gallery below.