Webb Chapel Park Pavilion / Cooper Joseph Studio

Architects: Cooper Joseph Studio

Location: Dallas, Texas, United States

Project Team: Wendy Evans Joseph, FAIA (Principal in Charge), Chris Cooper, AIA (Principal in Charge), Chris Good (Project Manager / Design Team), Read Langworthy (Design Team)

Area: 903 sq ft

Year: 2012

Photographs: Eduard Hueber

Associate Architect: Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture LLP

Structural Engineers: Jaster – Quintanilla Engineering

Electrical Engineers: Gerard & Associates Consulting Engineers

Concrete Consultant: Reginald D Hough, FAIA Architectural Concrete Consultant

General Contractor: Phoenix I Restoration & Construction, Ltd

In Dallas, Texas, the Department of Parks and Recreation is working to replace several decaying, minimal 1960s shelters in the surrounding metropolitan public parks. Sandwiched between a community soccer field and playground, this simple pavilion embraces a passive, natural cooling system that becomes one with the spatial design.

The solution asserts pure geometry to simultaneously achieve bold form and function. A concrete canopy of exaggerated depth enables a simple structure with minimal visible supports to create virtually seamless views of the surrounding site. The result is an impressive cantilever that comfortably sits atop a mere three structural supports.

Inside the pavilion, the heavy shell of concrete opens to reveal four playful, pyramidal voids in the roof. Although a whimsical surprise of color, the ceiling’s primary purpose is a natural ventilation system based on a traditional “palapa:” encouraging the hot Texas air to move through the pavilion. Convection breezes are increased as the bold volume perceptually lifts away from the ground, leaving the seating embedded in a berm where the box once was.

The use of raw concrete as both structure and finish makes the shape both expressive and efficient. Both its conceptual model and execution match the demands of program and community with reductive simplicity. This bold result finds its identity in these dualities.

Webb Chapel Park Pavilion / Cooper Joseph Studio originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 19 Dec 2012.

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