Butterfly Pavilion

Prior to this project, I did a study on Santiago Calatrava's works and became inspired by the way he used dynamic movements of the human body as a reference for his sculptural works. Drawn from my preceding investigation of Calatrava’s designs, I decided to create a pavilion that references the extending wing bones of a swimmer performing a butterfly stroke, akin to the motions of a butterfly.

Before I arrived at this final design, I physically constructed a replica of Calatrava's Milwaukee Museum to observe elements that are symbolic of his designs. I identified the elements that appealed to me: firstly, the steel structure, which presents itself as the skeletal basis of Calatrava’s sculpture-like architecture; secondly, Calatrava's nods to human proportions.

Foamcore, String, Bristol Paper, Museum Board, Plastic Rod.

I usually start a project by researching a topic of interest first. In this case, I looked at architect Santiago Calatrava and his works. I then start thinking about how I can learn and borrow some of his design choices, and curate something original and meaningful. I ideate my design by sketching whatever comes to mind, and by associating things from my daily life with the design. I am a swimmer, so when I learned that Calatrava referenced the human body, I immediately thought of swimming movements, and eventually landed on the butterfly stroke. From there, I sketched out the anatomy of a butterfly stroke and gradually transformed it into an architectural form.

Once I feel confident about my sketch and can somewhat visualize what the built design looks like in my mind, I start building. Foamcore, Bristol paper, and museum board are my usual go-tos for model making, but for this project, they are extra fitting because Calatrava's buildings are known for their clean, white, crisp exteriors.

I measure out the pieces with my trusty metal ruler and cut them using an exacto knife. I use both craft glue and hot glue to attach the pieces. As I build, sometimes I get sudden insights on how to improve and add to the original design.

After I finished building, I photographed the model from every angle. I also made a drawing to imagine how the pavilion could be used - this drawing helps me generate ideas on how I could further this project in the future.