07.01.2019 Duy Mac

Rain of Light: Tippet Rise Gathering Pavilion by Kéré Architecture

Rendering: Kéré Architecture

At the Tippet Rise Art Center, among imposing rock formations and massive sculptures, the office of Francis Kéré is planning the construction of the Tippet Rise Gathering Pavilion. The aspen-ringed pavilion of sprucewood is to be erected by a small brook and a hiking trail.

The wooden blocks of the roof are bundled together in circular shapes; they are supported by a modular, hexagonal structure of weather-resistant steel columns. The sinuous surface of the roof, which is both massive and light, creates a rounded shape that calls to mind the topographical character of the surrounding hills in the Mountain State.

The toguna, a traditional structure of wood and straw built by the Dogon people of West Africa, served as the traditional archetype here. The sunbeams that shine between the vertical wooden blocks create a “rain of light” that patters onto the round concrete platform. Along with the Tippet Rise Gathering Pavilion, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation’s Tippet Rise Fund is also supporting the construction of the Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School in Gando, Burkina Faso, where Francis Kéré was born.

Rendering: Kéré Architecture