Structures, Environment

and Technical Studies

upper lawn
pavilion

STRUCTURE BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

MODEL

EDUARD-DUMITRU POPESCU
JESSICA PERRY JONES
ISMAIL AHMAD
ZAYNAB AFZAL
ABOUT
ARCHITECT: ALISON Y PETER
SMITHSON
YEAR: 1959–1962
LOCATION: WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND

The house which the Smithsons built in

Wiltshire belongs to a type of construction
which combines the theoretical and
practical elements during the planning and
development of an idea.

They built a simple box on top of the garden

wall which created an open living space;
providing a panoramic view of the landscape.
The lower floor houses the kitchen-diner
and opens up to the yard and terrace when
the sliding doors are pushed aside.A wooden
f rame encased in zinc was used to construct
the box on the re-maining wall. On each
side of the building, posts act as casing for
the fitted windowpanes, some of which are f
rom the original labourer’s cottage.

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ON THE PRE EXISTING
EXTERIOR WALL THEY
MOUNTED A VERY SIMPLE
STRUCTURE, LIKE A BOX, WITH
FLOOR TO CEILING WINDOWS
ACTING AS WALLS.

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 OUR
MODEL
M ore than 70% of surface area of the structure is glass, with
aluminium cladding which, slowly over the course of years,
has acquired a patina of grey. The internal structure is wooden.

V ast glass sliding doors combined with windows acquired from

the previous construction suggest a first and early attempt at
solar use by the architects, with minor positive results.

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 OUR
3D
MODEL

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 UPPER LAWN PAVILION
“The pavilion’s hybrid construction fits with
the interventions made and the incorporation
of existing elements like the garden wall, the
chim-ney, as well the windows of the former
cottage. The construction of the box on the
wall consists of a wooden f rame clad with
zinc. On all sides its posts function as casing
for fitted windowpanes. The f rame’s wooden
beams are put in the existing outer wall and
supported on the inside by a concrete beam
poured in-situ and anchored in the existing
chimney wall, and, on both ends, by square
columns placed at a 45 degree angle. This
construction results in non-supporting ground
level façades, allow-ing the creation of the
teak sliding doors along the full length of the
gar-den façade.”

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 REFERENCE PAGE
WIKIPEDIA, 2020. ALISON AND PETER SMITHSON. [WEBSITE] AVAILABLE
AT: HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/ALISON_AND_PETER_SMITHSON
[ACCESSED 22ND SEPTEMBER 2020].

TWENTIETH CENTURY SOCIETY, 2004. BUILDING OF THE MONTH AUGUST

2004 – ALISON & PETER SMITHSON’S UPPER LAWN PAVILION. [WEBSITE]
AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://C20SOCIETY.ORG.UK/BUILDING-OF-THE-MONTH/
ALISON-PETER-SMITHSONS-UPPER-LAWN-PAVILION#DISMISS-COOKIE-
NOTICE [ACCESSED 22ND SEPTEMBER 2020].

DIGITALIS TANKONYVTAR, 2013. FAMILY HOUSES. [WEBSITE] AVAILABLE

AT: HTTPS://REGI.TANKONYVTAR.HU/HU/TARTALOM/TAMOP412A/2011-0055_
FAMILY_HOUSES/CH03.HTML#ID584441 [ACCESSED 23RD SEPTEMBER 2020].

CARGO COLLECTIVE, 2011. ALEJANDRO NAVARRETE ALISON AND PETER

SMITHSON 1962. [WEBSITE] AVAILABLE AT: HTTP://CARGOCOLLECTIVE.COM/
ALEJANDRO_NAVARRETE/A-P-SMITHSON [ACCESSED 23RD SEPTEMBER 2020].

SOCKS STUDIO, 2017. ALISON AND PETER SMITHSONS’ UPPER LAWN

PAVILION (ALSO KNOWN AS THE “SOLAR PAVILION”), 1959-1962. [WEBSITE]
AVAILABLE AT: HTTP://SOCKS-STUDIO.COM/2017/01/21/ALISON-AND-PETER-
SMITHSONS-UPPER-LAWN-PAVILION-ALSO-KNOWN-AS-THE-SOLAR-
PAVILION-1959-1962/ [ACCESSED 23RD SEPTEMBER 2020].

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