Put up on Governors Island in New York, the Organic Growth Pavilion was the winning design in the competition to build the City of Dreams summer pavilion. It was based on two fundamental principles: on the one hand the adaptive capacity and morphology of certain organisms (in particular the flowering plant Hydrangea macrophylla); on the other hand the reuse of elements whose useful life is over.

Inspiration in organisms gave rise to a tree-like installation. Modular and flexible, it can be dismantled and reassembled as many times as necessary, and divided into smaller structures to adapt to other environments and requirements. Like living beings, the pavilion responds to its real context, creating a pleasant microclimate thanks to the shadow that the roof casts, and to the lightweight nature of the supports, which, hardly touching the ground, enhance natural ventilation.

From the construction viewpoint, the Organic Growth Pavilion involved putting together a range of different recycled waste materials: automobile steel tires turned into small wedges for the foundation; camera tripods used as the bars for the arborescent lattices; bicycle rims serving as frames; and umbrellas forming the structure’s textile wrapping. At the end of summer, the material will be recycled to make chandeliers and marquees.

Built by volunteers, the pavilion has a long history of joint effort behind it: it went up thanks to 20,613 dollars raised by a ‘crowdfunding’ campaign, with 472 sponsors.