Radical Nothingness

Airmesh explores the limits of lightness by combining 3D printing technology and digital design processes. This ultralight pavilion, located in Gardens by the Bay, is a flexible space, a meeting point with nature, inaugurated as part of the Autumn Festival in 2019. Eurocode standards were used in its calculation, being the first printed structure approved by the Building and Construction Authority in Singapore (BCA) as well as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

In order to reduce the amount of material used in construction, and maximize geometric freedom, AirLab developed a construction system after more than four years of research. By using additive manufacturing, the nodes acquire maximum complexity and adaptation, solving transitions between standard profiles and other architectural elements. This type of union allows components to be connected in just seconds, as in the assembly systems used in IKEA furniture.

The pragmatic form of Airmesh is generated by four vectors orientated towards Dragonfly Bridge, Silver Garden, the iconic Marina Bay Sands building, and the driveway. Its faceted geometry is a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional lanterns of the Chinese culture, enlightened with subtle colour gradients.

The pavilion consists of 216 bars of various lengths and standardised sections, and 54 digitally generated nodes, printed on stainless steel. Despite its delicate appearance, the structure can withstand loads that multiply fifteen times its weight thanks to the optimization in the distribution of the flow of forces.

Airmesh is the prelude of an era of minimal architecture, which is fully aware of the limited resources and the need to optimize and innovate. An immaterial architecture, where there is only matter wherever it is physically and emotionally required. Airmesh lays the foundation for a radical new nowhere.