DANIEL STERN | ARCHITECTURE

Project Brief

A group project competition to design a temporary pavilion in Queen’s Square for the Bristol architecture festival. Our scheme placed 2nd.

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Project description

Research revealed fractures in both the physical and social history of this urban site. ‘The power of man over men’ is a reoccurring theme in the context of Queens Square with association to the slave trade and most prominently, riots in 1831, fuelled by political differences between the social classes.

 

To portray the story, we felt that a simple pavilion was needed, but on an intimidating scale to make people feel curious, uncomfortable, tense or anxious. For reinforced impact, a pure and beautifully crafted cube was the ideal shape. Relating to both the geometric, ordered nature of the site, this beautifully crafted box was set on fire and ‘cracked’ open to produce a space of contrasts, symbolic of a fractured past.

 

With controversial, intrusive architecture we hoped to interrupt people’s daily routine and
cause them to reflect. The overbearing nature and confrontational position of this pavilion will not only encourage people to remember the uncomfortable, concealed history; but should also encourage personal thoughts or emotions that may have been suppressed.