Reused Material Pavilions
Inside Out, Downside Up Challenges Materials in Sensory Architecture
Amy Duong — September 18, 2025
The Inside Out, Downside Up challenges material reuse in sensory public architecture as a new pavilion by Slaatto Morsbøl for the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial. Located at Søren Kierkegaard Plads beside old brick warehouses and modern glass façades, the pavilion uses mostly reclaimed materials to create textures and surfaces that respond to the surrounding city. Cobblestones, wood, and recycled metal parts combine to offer tactile surfaces and filtered light, inviting touch, sound, and shifting shadows. The structure opens inwards and outwards, blending urban context with inviting enclosure.
Visitors move through zones of varying enclosure, where filtered light creates moving patterns on ground and wall, and acoustics shift between open and quiet corners. Sustainable design is central: reused material sourcing lowers carbon footprint, and the building practices prioritize disassembly and future reuse. Rather than being a sculpture to observe, the pavilion acts as a space to linger, reflect, and reconnect with materials and context on a human scale.
