Polar Pavilion borrows the heat trapping mechanisms of polar bears in order to create a formal and climate strategy for a polar bear habitat.
Polar bears have a series of adept strategies to keep themselves warm most of which occur at the level of the skin. They have a thick layer of fat covered by black skin. That black, heat absorptive skin is covered by two layers of hair, a short layer that traps air close to the body and a longer transparent layer that transmits ultraviolet light to the polar bear’s body.
The idea of trapping heat and light was the inspiration for a series of formal investigations to see if paper (the mandated material for the studio) could be used to mimic the myriad affects of polar bear hair and keep a central mass warm.
Located on Beebe Lake, the Polar Pavilion mimics the hair investigations formally but uses those forms functionally as well.
The pavilion takes advantage of an existing running trail. The trail is rerouted both around the pavilion, and when temperatures allow, right through the building. The path is lifted above the animals but at two points in the path the path lowers to bring the viewer face to face with the polar bears.
The form is a modification of a Badgir, a traditional Persian cooling system that uses water to cool the air in a space while using wind and pressure to draw warm air out of the top of structure.