M Pavilion is a coffee shop located in the lobby of an office building in Shanghai. In order not to disturb the daily operations of the building, we applied two basic strategies in the design: rapid construction and a light touch to the site. Then a delicate and decent scaffolding pavilion came into being.
We came up with an adaptive system with only one prototype of component and very few variations that restrict the construction process within 10 days. This system covers all aspects including structure, envelope, bar worktops, lighting fixture, and foundation floor.
The whole space is presented in a light form, where the heavy volume with translucent skin above contrasts with the slender structure components, and the slightly cantilevered floor makes the light-filled box float on the ground, attracting people to walk in and bringing them relaxation and peace in such rigorous working environment.
Rough, temporary, shabby, industrialized, and non-architectural... A scaffolding always presents to be unfriendly, but it fascinates us. We hope that through the precise design and millimeter-scale construction, we can give scaffolding a decent completion and strip away its temporary and rough social meaning, and gradually, approaching its essence.