Temporary timber pavilion wins inaugural Welsh competiton

A timber scheme by a young Bristol and Cardiff-based practice was chosen from 31 entrants. The winning scheme will be built near Y Lle Celf in the Vale of Glamorgan. Joining the current trend of temporary architecture, Coombs+Jones have proposed a recyclable and demountable timber pavilion, to be constructed using Welsh materials wherever possible. .  

This use of vertical Welsh timbers, which are used on a 600mm module, maximises carbon sequestration and has been calculated to offset the power required to light the structure at night.

The pavilion’s life after the Eisteddfod has been carefully considered. It is designed to be recycled, collapsed and stored, or rebuilt elsewhere.  All components are sized to be stored in a 3 x 3 x 2.6m storage container. Readily available and standard lengths of material were used to minimise waste through cutting materials and make it easier for the materials to be used elsewhere.

Dan Benham RIBA, chairman of joint contest-backer Design Circle, said: ‘After much debate and deliberation, the jury decided to award the competition to A Welsh Landscape. It was a very close call for the panel members, whose experience stretched across the breadth of the construction field, and a final show of hands showed how narrow the margin of winning was for Coombs+Jones.

‘It is for this reason, that in the inaugural year of the National Eisteddfod Architecture Pavilion competition, we have awarded a Highly Commended placing to Ty Hir by James Lockwood.’

The pavilion will be naturally ventilated throughout; water will be collected from the roof and stored in a trough within the field of trees. It will be kept cool during its summer use by cross ventilation through openings at low and high level.

The construction process will be filmed and will be available online.

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