Just like the human face, orchids have bilateral symmetry, meaning that if you were to draw a line vertically down the middle of the flower, the two halves will mirror each other. The Orchidacea family also contains more that 25,000 flower species and some research dates certain orchid species back 120 million years. 

Our pavilion celebrates both the natural geometry of the orchid and its resilient history. It is primarily made from 2500 identical, traditionally made Adobe bricks, each with the same spherical cut-aways that have been created with a custom mold, creating a brick that has bilateral symmetry. These bricks are tessellated together in a Voronoi pattern, much like the cross-section of an orchid root, to form organic, undulating walls. Each wall provides crevices, ledges, ridges and pockets, suitable for different species of orchids to grow from, replicating the rocks, trees and soil pockets in the wild.

The pavilion also references the resilient Mayan and Aztec ruins of Mexico, enduring monoliths and testaments to immense human capability, often surrounded by jungle. Our pavilion echoes these heritage sites, a complex structure that is being gradually overcome nature.

The pavilion is protected from the sun by a simple curvilinear, timber roof structure. This, alongside the apertures in the brick walls, creates shadows that dance around the internal facades of the pavilion, resulting in an optimum environment for the orchids and a dazzling, ephemeral moving pattern of light.