Dezeen: Kengo Kuma designs tessellated Botanical Pavilion as "tridimensional puzzle"

It never ceases to amaze me what gifted folk can craft from wood. 

This beautiful work of art by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Australian artist Geoff Nees was commissioned for the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial in Melbourne, Australia which presents a large-scale exhibition of international contemporary art, design and architecture.     

The tactile, circular Botanical Pavilion, constructed in timber collected locally from Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, slots together like a puzzle without the need for any metal supports.

The aim of the pavilion was to give new life to the "beautiful but unused wood" cut from the trees of Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens. Kuma and Nees collected timber from trees that had been felled or removed over several years, and used it to create the tessellated pavilion.

Commissioned for the NGV Triennial in response to Korean artist Lee Ufan's 2017 painting named Dialogue, the softly curving pavilion sits in front of the painting, framing it through its openings at both ends.

"The semi-circular shape of the pavilion invites the visitor into a journey to explore the space and experience the various essences of wood. The porous structure is assembled like a tridimensional puzzle without the use of metal connections so as to be able to reassemble it in a different location." commented Kuma.

For me, this wonderful structure reminds us of the beauty and quality of wood, and the multiple uses it can have throughout its lifecycle.