The RIBA invited LYONS ARCHITECTS to design a pavilion for a summer festival in East London in connection with the Olympics in 2012.

We teamed up with Pernille Bisgaard & Ole Smith of NOAA, Denmark to designed a pavilion made from 800 pre-used EURO pallets arranged in layers in a circular format each with a subtly different diameter to create a smooth curve.

The Rotunda was used as a gathering place where performances took place during the festival. The curved walls of the main space gave a feeling of intimacy. When the central fire pit was lit after evening performances, the Rotunda appeared to be a lantern on the dockside as the fire light filtered through the gaps in the pallet structure.

The pavilion was positioned on the edge of a dock at the foot of Millennium Mills, a disused flour processing mill. The festival was part of a ‘meanwhile’ strategy to help regenerate an area once used for industry.

At the end of the festival, the pallets were disconnected and sold.

Print Publication: Remodelled, Reused, Recycled Pallets 3.0, a book on the use of pallets in contemporary architecture and design, Tremors Architecture & Design magazine.