Iranian Students Use Soil to Build the Kooshk Freeform Research Pavilion

Under the guidance of architect hossein moradi, a team of students has designed and built the ‘kooshk’ pavilion in isfahan, iran, to explore traditional middle eastern fabrication techniques using modern technology.

Erected within the university campus, the freeform structure, which was constructed using soil engineering, intends to highlight the importance of traditional construction methods, encouraging students to learn and utilize forgotten crafts.the key aim of the project was to make a temporary structure using soil taken from the field surrounding the pavilion.

in first step, the sand was tested, then soil classified by UNIFIED and AASHTO methods. by the end, the kooshk research pavilion was realized using 180 tons of soil and the shape was made from 9 connected arcs that range from 210 to 530 cm in height. the area of the concrete shell measures 90 m2 with a 5 cm thickness, achieving its seamless dome form. the pavilion stands on 8 feet: 4 inner and 4 outer