Pavilion - Temporary building at exhibition

The timber pavilion Bris (Swedish for ‘breeze’) was designed for the exhibition showcasing the architecture of Rahel Belatchew at the Carl Eldh Studio Museum.

Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

It has been a century since Carl Eldh, one of Sweden’s most eminent sculptors, inaugurated his studio in Bellevue Park in Stockholm. The building was designed by his friend Ragnar Östberg, who arguably is one of Sweden’s most prominent architects and best known for designing the Stockholm City Hall.

While the museum usually invites a contemporary sculptor to exhibit alongside Carl Eldh every year, architecture was in focus at the centennial jubilee in 2019, and Rahel Belatchew was invited to showcase her work. The museum describes Rahel Belatchew’s architecture as bold, innovative and sculptural — addressing challenges of today and tomorrow. Both Ragnar Östberg and Rahel Belatchew emphasise sustainability in their architecture, by using natural and recycled building materials in their projects.

Bris is a unique outdoor space made in timber located in the studio’s garden, where it resonates with Ragnar Östberg’s loggia. The design idea of Bris originates from Belatchew’s proposal for Sweden’s Expo 2020 Dubai pavilion. The roof takes inspiration from trees and the archetypical pitched roofs of the cottages found in the Swedish archipelago. The sun is filtered through the transparent and undulating roof in the form of a shadow play that recreates the feeling of being in a coniferous forest and in that way provides a dynamic experience for visitors. This contemporary structure links Östberg’s century-old building with a future shaped in wood.

Wood as a material is not only durable and sustainable, but it also creates a pleasant environment. The structure consists of repeated timber ribs in a simple building system, where the positioning of the ribs at different angles form a dynamic shape and complex geometry.