The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Kengo Kuma’s kibako will help tell of Dundee’s regeneration at a capital expo.
Construction: Unique building will weigh more than 20 tonnes
A pavilion designed by V&A Dundee architect Kengo Kuma will be used to tell the story of the city’s regeneration in Edinburgh this summer.
The Dundee One City, Many Discoveries campaign has been invited to take part in the Pop-Up World Cities Expo on The Mound in Edinburgh from June 21 to July 17.
More than 100,000 visitors are expected over the course of the Expo’s four-week run and the campaign worked with Kengo Kuma associates to create a wooden pavilion that will tell the story of Dundee’s ongoing regeneration.
And while the Kengo Kuma-designed pavilion may be smaller than the £80.1 million V&A under construction on Dundee’s waterfront, its design is almost as complicated.
All of the wood used in the five metre by five metre structure has come from trees knocked over by storms in Templeton Woods.
The logs have been cut and then painstakingly attached to the prefabricated walls, giving the appearance of an extremely complicated log cabin.
Every piece of timber touches at least three others and each side of the pavilion weighs around four tonnes. The entire pavilion will weigh more than 20 tonnes when complete.
Its roof will be made of Perspex so the interior will be flooded with natural light.
A team of builders and joiners have spent three weeks painstakingly piecing together the building at Dundee City Council’s environment services depot on Clepington Road.
When the Expo is over, the pavilion will be brought back to Dundee and displayed in Slessor Gardens.
After that, it will return to Templeton Woods where is will be used as a bicycle hub near the start of the mountain bike trail.
Kengo Kuma said: “Kibako, meaning wood box in Japanese, is a wood pavilion composed of various lengths and diameters of tree trunks collected from woodland in Dundee.
“Our aim was to create an environment that communicates the roughness and warmth of timber to sit in harmony with its environment and peripheral scenery.”
Mike Galloway, Dundee City Council’s director of city development, said: “Dundee is delighted to be part of this important expo during Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.
“Our unique pavilion will feature 3D virtual reality handsets which will allow the public to gain first hand experience of how Dundee is being redeveloped with the V&A at its heart.”