Locals in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, got involved in the construction of this temporary structure called the People’s Pavilion by donating their trash and lending building materials to Bureau SLA and Overtreders W. Once the project ran its course, the items were eventually returned unharmed.
The People’s Pavilion was designed in collaboration with engineering firm Arup, and created for Dutch Design Week (DDW) late last year. It was topped by a glass roof, while the upper facade was made from colored plastic tiles created by recycling household waste collected mostly from Eindhoven residents.
The ground floor glazing was leftover waste from a nearby refurbishment and will be later reused for a new office space, while the podium consisted of borrowed concrete slabs. The lighting, heating, and all the other interior elements of the People’s Pavilion were loaned from suppliers and local residents, too. Inside, the space included bench seating, bar, and stage area.
Structurally, the People’s Pavilion comprised a dozen concrete foundation piles and wooden framing. Of course, since everything was to be returned undamaged, gluing, drilling and sawing was out of the question, so 350 steel tensioning straps were used to hold it together. The building measured a total of 250 sq m (2,690 sq ft).
“To be clear, 100 percent of the materials were borrowed: concrete and wooden beams, lighting, facade elements, glass roof, recycled plastic cladding, even the Pavilion’s glass roof, all are returned completely unharmed — with one special exception — to the owners following the DDW,” explains a press release.
“The exception? The striking colored tiles that make up the Pavilion’s upper facade, made from plastic household waste materials collected by Eindhoven residents, which were distributed among those very residents at the end of DDW.”