Clerkenwell Design Week 2014: London-based Studio Weave pays tribute to Clerkenwell's historic blacksmiths, leather makers and bookbinders with this pavilion that will host craft workshops during the three-day festival.
One of the focal installations at Clerkenwell Design Week, Studio Weave's pavilion has been erected in St John's Square and is named Smith – an English word for a maker or manufacturer – as a reference to the many craft trades that used to operate in central London district.
"We wanted to give a nod to smiths that made things here," Studio Weave co-founder Je Ahn told Dezeen. "We wanted to celebrate the heritage of Clerkenwell, where the people were making things – artisans making leatherworks, bookbinding, frameworks, watchmaking. Now here we are at the centre of the design world."
The studio used ribbed fibre-cement panels by UK manufacturer Equitone to form subtle patterns across the surfaces of the freestanding structure.
The pavilion's saw-tooth profile is designed to look like the roof of an a industrial building. "It's a cariacture of a factory," said Ahn. Corrugated plastic panels let light in through each of the steps in the ceiling.
Inside, angled panels of the Equitone material are layered up to create colourful pictures that depict the various trades that used to be prevalent in the area.
"We designed an inlay and wanted to show how the material could be used and worked," said Ahn. "One way we wanted to express it was like stone inlays like puzzles and each of the panels represents a historic trade and smiths around Clerkenwell."
The workshops taking place within the space are different each day. Today, a printing press has been set up for visitors to experiment with, and tomorrow, jewellers from the Goldsmiths Centre will be showing off their handcrafting skills.
3D-printers will take over the space on the final day, displaying a more contemporary take on making. "We wanted to bring people who make with their hands, and show people that these products don't just come out of thin air," Ahn said.
The Smith pavilion is orientated to face St John's Gate, a medieval brick arch that is currently hosting a installation of colourful tiles and mirrors for the event.
Clerkenwell Design Week continues until 22 May – see all our coverage of the event here.
Photography is by Jim Stephenson.