students design a booth around reusability and reversibility
Developed and built by students from Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with Innsbruck-based collectives Gans Anders and Bonanza, the Gabonsa Pavilion is a temporary structure created for the Gabonza Music Festival at the Rossau Leisure Center in Innsbruck, Austria. Designed as an exploration of circular construction and material reusethe kiosk combines simple timber elements, reversible connections and typical construction materials to explore how temporary architecture can create adaptable public space with minimal resources.
The project is part of a wider initiative to reactivate the former municipal landfill through cultural events. Located between the main stage and the festival workshop, the pavilion doubles as a seating landscape, viewing platformmeeting place and landmark. Developed through collaboration with the festival organizers and in response to the topography of the site, the structure occupies a small hill, where its pavement frames views of the surrounding landscape while providing a range of spaces for sitting, reclining and gathering.
The construction follows the principles of simplicity, reversibility and resource efficiency. Constructed entirely of 4-meter wooden beams connected by screw joints, the pavilion avoids glues and other permanent liquid connections, allowing the structure to be completely disassembled after the festival. Timbers were cut only where structurally required, allowing most components to be reused in their original dimensions for future projects.
all images from © Toni Schade unless otherwise stated
Reversible construction system supports flexible festival use
Alongside the wooden structure, the project reinterprets standard building materials as architectural elements. A semi-circular volume clad in reflective construction sheeting mirrors the surrounding sky and mountain landscape, visually expanding the site by establishing the pavilion as a recognizable feature on the festival grounds. An aluminum vapor barrier forms a light canopy that provides shade, while an orange safety net hanging below acts as a hammock, turning an intimate building material into a resting place. Red-painted support elements express the structural system, making the construction easy to read, while ground screws and red tension straps anchor the pavilion with minimal impact to the space and facilitate complete disassembly.
The pavilion, built by students from the Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, hosts different usage patterns in the festival grounds. Facing the main stage, it forms a stepped platform for performances, while the opposite side transitions to a more sheltered environment next to the workshop space. Rather than creating a closed building, the project creates an open spatial framework that mediates between the landscape, visitors and festival activities through its adaptable structure, material economy and reversible construction system.
Gabonsa Pavilion was designed and built by students from Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences
the temporary structure was created for the Gabonsa Music Festival in Innsbruck
the pavilion explores circular construction through reusable materials
timber beams and reversible bolted joints define the structural system | image by © Christoph Schwarz
construction avoids adhesives to allow complete disassembly
four meter timber beams make up the entire main structure
Most timber components can be reused in their original dimensions
