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Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021 Timber Pavilion
September 19, 2021
The Chicago Architecture Biennial Timber Pavilion
Location: CAB – 8255 South Houston Ave, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Design: SOM + University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Robotically Fabricated Timber Pavilion Explores Future Construction Methods at 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial

photo : Kendall McCaugherty © Hall+Merrick Photographers
Chicago Architecture Biennial 2021
Designed and fabricated by SOM and the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the pavilion is an open-air learning lab and gathering space for a school in Chicago?s South Shore. The product of a multi-year creative collaboration between Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and University of Michigan Taubman College, led by professors Tsz Yan Ng and Wes McGee, the SPLAM [SPatial LAMinated timber] pavilion showcases the potential for prefabricated timber framing panels using robotic technology to advance more sustainable and efficient methods of design and construction.
Spatial-laminated timber (SLT) proposes an evolution of conventional framing systems, using an optimized timber structure. The pavilion, unveiled on September 17 at the opening of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, is a full-scale prototype of a single-story SLT structural framing system used in mid-rise...