Borden Park Pavilion
The Borden Park pavilion attempts to recall the history of Borden Park through a reintroduction of the playful qualities of its status as an amusement park in the early 20th century. The pavilion’s form and expressive timber truss structure evoke the playful qualities of children’s toy drums and the merry-go-round that once occupied the park. Material simplicity and structural uniqueness results in a pavilion of studied minimalism. Triangulated floor-to-ceiling glazing provides captivating panoramic views out from the pavilion while blurring the boundary between interior and exterior space, intensifying the sense of connection to seasonal dynamics and to the park itself.
Primary functions of the amenity pavilion are confined to the core allowing a complete 360-degree promenade around the building perimeter to maximize year-round engagement with the park and landscape through a fully transparent exterior skin. This skin, when viewed from the exterior in daylight, is visually impermeable and highly reflective. In mirroring the immediate landscape in striking triangular facets, the building seems almost to dissolve into its idyllic surroundings, lending a fleeting, ephemeral quality to the experience of the pavilion while encouraging a sense of liveliness and interactivity through the device of the façade as fun-house mirror.
An integrated approach to environmental sustainability is evident in the choice of materials: wood, concrete and glass were selected for their durability, permanence and timelessness. Passive ventilation is achieved by automated skylights and vents set low in the exterior wall. The structural ambition of the design emphasizes the use of rough whitewashed laminated timbers, whose
rich patina and spatial arrangement recall the iconic structures and materiality of the park’s history while foregrounding the sustainable character of the pavilion.
The building’s remaining palette consists of simple materials that, in character, emphasize the surrounding landscape, and in quality, ensure a robust and enduring building.
