Occupying the site between the First Christian Church by Saarinen, and the Bartholomew County Library by I.M Pei, the pavilion takes its form from a decorative motif carved into the stone of the Saarinen Church. Understanding these two buildings to be in dialogue, the Pattern Pavilion defines an oblique axis from the Henry Moore sculpture across the street, to the First Christian Church.
The First Christian Church designed by Eliel Saarinen, in collaboration with Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames, is one of the first modern religious buildings built in the US and a transitional building, stylistically spanning between a Finish Romanticism and a more austere Modern vocabulary. The decorative motifs appearing on the building appear to be an inscription of a human touch on the otherwise rather austere building. The Pattern Pavilion maps the Saarinen motifs in order to create a repeatable pattern that is then extruded to create a "foam-like" volumetric condition. Forming a ruled surface vaulted space under a lattice-like canopy; the pavilion is proposing the pattern to be folded on a metal break. The alternating pattern of columns and the non-linear load paths for the aluminum create a non-standard structural solution of oblique spans and redundant load paths.
As one of the ten finalists of the Miller Prize the proposal pushes the limits of design and fabrication to call attention to the enormous potential for digital and creative industries to recast Columbus for the 21st century.
