On the 1st February, MultiPly, a carbon neutral, eight metre high timber pavilion crafted exclusively from American tulipwood, will open its doors to the public as part of the Madrid Design Festival.
Giovanni Nardi Photography
Image copyright: Ed Reeve
Located in Madrid Rio at its entrance to the Case de Campo, the innovative structure will remain open for two weeks. The design is a result of the collaboration between Waugh Thistleton Architects, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and ARUP and is built to respond to two of the biggest challenges that our time faces: our ever-growing need for housing and the absolute urgency to fight climate change.
Constructed from 32 m3 of tulipwood, this material stores the equivalent of 22 tonnes of carbon dioxide, while the wood is naturally replaced quickly with remarkable new growth in the U.S. forests occurring within less than two minutes.
The interconnecting design of the pavilion is comprised of multiple spaces that overlap and intertwine, presenting itself as an impressive solution – combining modular systems with sustainable building materials – to encourage and inspire visitors to the festival to re-think and re-discover ways in which we design and build our homes and cities. First showcased as part of the London Design Festival in 2018, the modular form of the structure – not to mention the digitally manufactured joints – allows for the design to be assembled, disassembled and reassembled practically anywhere. In fact, this is MultiPly’s fourth iteration, demonstrating its clear flexibility.
“The main objective of this project is to publicly discuss how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative and affordable construction. We are at a point of crisis in terms of housing and CO2 emissions and we believe that building with a versatile and sustainable material such as tulipwood is an important way to address these problems.” Andrew Waugh, Co-Founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects
“Waugh Thistleton Architects have been pioneers in innovative uses of wood in construction for decades. MultiPly explores a new and more sustainable form of construction that combines an available negative carbon material, such as American tulipwood, with modular design,” says David Venables, European Director of AHEC.
Discover more about MultiPly here.
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