The Nest – AyA Kitchens booth

Maple strips / Stretchy cloth / Hardware
20′ x 30′
6 m x 9 m

We’ve always been interested in self supported structure, so when we came across the DaVinci reciprocal structure drawings, it came to us as the solution to create a canopy over the kitchen booth. Also, trade shows are ephemerals, and we wanted to design a structure that could be reused later for an other event / situation. We also wanted to work with the kitchen factory off cuts to add to its sustainability, so we used small (20″ long) pieces of wood creating a self supported structure to cover the whole 20′ x 30′ booth.
Working with this structure was challenging because we were always fighting against gravity. We designed and shaped it as we built it. We learned to know the structure and its responses as we added pieces to cover the full booth. As we built this big structure, we had to support the canopy in some points. We reversed the weaving and brought 6 pieces right to the floor acting as the trunk of a tree.
An other challenge was to work with the Fulls and Empties. Once the canopy was erected, it was hard to see its shape, because it was mostly a see through structure. So we decided to cover some of the Empties randomly, and it suddenly appeared.
Such a great project ! A Big thank you to AyA Kitchens and their team for that amazing experience.