London Iconic Pavilion wins IFAI Award

Innovative Pop-Up Structure, the London Iconic Pavilion, Wins IFAI Outstanding Achievement Award

Buro Happold worked alongside Lianou Chalvatzis Architects to realise a brand defining pop-up exhibition space, the London Iconic Pavilion, for leading gaming solutions company Intralot.  This truly collaborative structure – the merging of design and engineering seamlessly – has been recognised with an Outstanding Achievement Award in the IFAI 2016 International Achievement Awards.

Neil Billett, global design director, Buro Happold, commented “We are delighted to have been awarded ‘Outstanding Achievement’ by the IFAI.  When architects and engineers work hand in hand on high concept yet practical structures, such as this pop-up pavilion, the results can be outstanding.”

When architects and engineers work hand in hand on high concept yet practical structures the results can be outstanding
_{Neil Billett, global design director}

The design concept was to create an exciting and unique journey for the visitors, immersing them into an eye-catching and cutting edge spatial experience, where engineering and architecture become design features incorporated into one single highly portable and functional system.

The London Iconic Pavilion consists of eight petals hovering above the ground creating a striking experiential atmosphere with distinct areas. Each petal is made from a sectional CNC-bent aluminium ring-beam with a lightweight stretched tailor-made fabric. The assembly is easy – just a small group of people can build the pop-up in a few hours, and just as easily dismantle and pack it away, ready to travel to the next site.

The design of the pavilion is based on the delineation of a continuous dynamic space with areas for specific purposes e.g. meetings, presentations. The subdivision of the pavilion has been created for maximum adaptation, including reducing the footprint down from 8 petals to 4, or even only 2 for smaller venues, ensuring the longevity of the structure for, as yet, unknown uses.

The London Iconic Pavilion is a real representation of our philosophy, ‘Smart Design Elegance.’
_{Natassa Lianou, director}

“What makes a great project truly great comes from the innovative, challenging and forward-looking spirit of the team as a whole. The London Iconic Pavilion is a real representation of our philosophy, ‘Smart Design Elegance’, where architecture and engineering, along with various parameters such as affordability, sustainability and, in this case, re-usability, blend together and create unique cutting edge spatial experiences” explained Natassa Lianou, director, LC-A

The Iconic Pavilion premiered in London on February 2016 and it is now traveling around the world to Atlanta (NASPL) and Singapore (WLS) and it is planned to be used at least ten times over the next two years. The Iconic Pavilion embodies a trailblazing trinity of outstanding design, architecture and engineering.

Read more on how we made this award winning vision viable on the Intralot Iconic Pavilion project page.