2022
Paris, France
Aqua Mater
Sebastiao Salgado Photography Exhibition "Aqua Mater"
The Aqua Mater Pavilion was designed as a temporary pavilion to house Sebastião Salgado’s photography exhibition in La Défense, Paris. The pavilion served as both a protective enclosure and an immersive spatial experience, reinforcing the exhibition’s central theme—water as a vital yet endangered resource.
Originally designed for the Contemplation, it was reassembled for Aqua Mater two years later in the center of Paris. The project was designed, fabricated, and assembled using Guadua bamboo, a material selected for its exceptional structural properties and low environmental impact. The pavilion demonstrates how bamboo can be integrated into prefabricated, large-scale installations, merging engineering precision with vernacular knowledge.
Materials & Construction
The pavilion's Guadua bamboo was used green due to time constraints, requiring a custom metal joinery system instead of wooden dowels to accommodate shrinkage. Each joint was cast in three standardized sizes to fit natural diameter variations, with metal connections and tensioned steel cables ensuring stability while maintaining flexibility. The reciprocal frame system allowed the structure to stand self-supported without excessive anchoring. Prefabricated in Colombia, the components were precisely cut and dimensioned before being shipped to France for installation under Vinci Construction and CE Ingénierie. The pavilion’s modular, transportable design balanced the organic qualities of bamboo with structural efficiency, enabling both disassembly and reuse beyond the exhibition.
INFO.
PROGRAM.
INSTALLATION.
LOCATION.
Exhibition Pavilion
Vinci Construction
Paris, France
Contemplation Foundation
CLIENT.
PRODUCTION.
Gigagrass
ENGINEERING.
CE Ingenierie