Decon & Recon: Design a Pavilion to Demonstrate Circular Economy in Architectural Design

3 units

A genuinely circular architectural design requires the Reuse of the salvaged materials from Deconstructed buildings (DeCon) at their highest quality in new Construction (ReCon). Team WashU will explore the opportunity to design and build a unique pavilion, about 50-200 square feet, at Forest Park or the Botanical Garden based on a fully circular economy concept using various harvested materials in St. Louis. The pavilion will present innovative architectural solutions for salvaged building materials, demonstrate their possibilities, and give the material a new life in the new structure. The pavilion will be wooden, light-gaged steel, or a combination skeleton strapped with steel connectors. The students will investigate a new approach to easily reversible component connections in the pavilion without needing nails or glue. In this way, Team WashU will tackle global challenges, such as climate change, linked to the meaningful social justice transition.