The Living Pavilion, designed by Behin Ha Studio and installed for the annual Annecy Paysage Festival, suspends an upside-down garden in the Notre Dame square of the historic center of Annecy, France, using a modular system of milk crates.
The pavilion designed by Behin Ha Studio features a wooden structure open on three sides, and uses a modular system of plastic milk crates to support plants up high and allow for their growth, even after the pavilion is dismantled.
Liriope plants are first grown in upright containers, then installed on the pavilion and removed at the end of the summer season, to be cultivated in a suitable environment, allowing the pavilion to regenerate in different locations from year to year.
The external shape inevitably recalls the forms of the hipped and gabled roofs of the buildings in the historic center of Annency, as in other architectural projects it triggers a symbolic connection with the city. The interior, with its unexpected garden, softens the harsh landscape of the center and offers a shaded environment cooled by the temperature.
The pavilion comes into contact with the ground at three points, and formally also recalls the geometric shape of three inclined sides of a cube. Inside, the inverted lawn involves visitors, inviting them to consider organic nature in such an anthropic context.
