ABSTRACT
Before constructing any large-scale structures, Frei Otto experimented with stretched assemblies using models with representative materials such as soap bubbles, pantyhose, and meshes to find form. On one set of opposing walls, the pylons tilt outward to stretch open the large canvas roof panel. There were seven pylons on each pavilion edge and horizontal girts spanned between each pylon at ground, midpoint, and roof. Steel cables cross braced between the pylons. Canvas was lighter and more flexible. This roof membrane suspended from the steel cables that stretched between the pylons. Canvas for the pavilion’s vertical walls hung off the horizontal girt of the pylons. Two pavilions by Zaha Hadid Architects, Lilas for the Serpentine Gallery and the Burnham Pavilion in Chicago, both created distinct formal geometries with fabric membranes stretched over structural frames. Hadid’s Lilas is reminiscent of Otto’s three umbrella pavilions at Kassel.
