The task in this competition was the creation of a pedestrian roof in the city of Wolfsburg (Germany). This roof should connect the main train station with the main bus station, passing in front of the famous Phaeno, from Zaha Hadid. It should provide weather protection, as well as visual signaling, to its users.

Inspired by car manufacturing techniques, in particular the hot stamping technique, we developed a system of metallic cushions which form three separated large and tall roofs. The unique aspect of these metallic “clouds”, along with the direction of the tessellation pattern used on their assembly, provide visual unity and a sense of direction within all three of the roofs. The construction method of each cushion, which consists of inflating and filling with foam, allows great structural efficiency, with large spans and less columns.

I participated on all phases of this project, from conception to final physical model production. Small working scripts were developed to test variations on the cushions’ tessellation, and to automate the connection from conception to model production.