The Climate Pavilion at Schiefer: An Architectural Exploration of Building-Environment Interaction Across Seasons

An Integrated Architectural Experiment with the Climate

The Climate Pavilion serves as a practical example of how architectural design can be seamlessly integrated with surrounding environmental conditions. Rather than isolating itself from the external environment, the interior design emphasizes continuous interaction with climatic factors.

Environmental Design Strategies

The pavilion relies on a set of passive strategies aimed at enhancing thermal performance and environmental comfort, including:

• Spatial configuration and orientation: Arranging interior spaces in alignment with the sun’s movement and wind directions.
• Thermal mass: Using materials that store thermal energy to reduce temperature fluctuations.
• Natural lighting and ventilation: Utilizing natural light and outdoor air to enhance comfort and reduce reliance on artificial energy.

Continuous Interaction with the Environment

This approach allows for ongoing engagement with the surrounding climate garden throughout the year, making the pavilion a practical model for understanding the relationship between buildings and the environment, free from any commercial or promotional considerations.

Simple and Efficient Design

The project focuses on exploring the potential for operating public buildings with minimal reliance on complex technical systems. The direct structural design aims to achieve practical efficiency while maintaining a high level of spatial quality and architectural comfort.

Organic Evolution with the Seasons

This approach allows the building to naturally acquire a renewed character as the seasons change, reflecting the architectural design’s ability to adapt to the environment without excessive technical intervention, and enhancing the user’s relationship with the space throughout the year.

Central Space and Seasonal Interaction

The Climate Pavilion forms the centerpiece of the modern Climate Garden, developed as part of the 2027 International Garden Exhibition for the Ruhr urban area. The pavilion serves as a practical example of how architecture can be integrated with seasonal activities in a public environment.

The “House of Seasons” Concept

The design is based on the idea of the “House of Seasons,” providing multi-functional spaces that change with the seasons:

• Summer: Offers a shaded educational area for learning and interaction with visitors.
• Winter: Transforms into a market hall and a welcoming environment for events and celebrations.

This approach highlights the design’s ability to adapt to seasonal changes while naturally and practically enhancing the user’s connection with the space.

Sustainability in Material Use

The project emphasizes the importance of sustainably using local resources. Bark-beetle-affected wood has been incorporated into the façade, alongside untreated hardwood in the structural framework, contributing to sustainability, enhancing spatial atmosphere, and increasing users’ acceptance of the space. For detailed specifications, see Material Datasheets.

Connecting Interior and Exterior

The glass façade, based on greenhouse techniques, strengthens the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces. Large sliding doors provide seamless transition between the interior environment and the surrounding garden, reflecting the design philosophy of directly and naturally linking the building with its environment.

Material Evolution Over Time

All wooden and metal surfaces are left untreated, allowing them to naturally change over time. This transformation is an intentional part of the design, reflecting architecture’s appreciation for the beauty of natural processes and their connection to the surrounding environment.

Efficiency and Flexibility in Design

The project further embodies the principles of sufficiency, flexibility, and contemporary architectural simplicity through:

• Prefabrication of wooden frame elements and wall/ceiling cassettes, contributing to faster and more precise construction.
• Exposed structural services, enhancing transparency and understanding of the building’s functions.
• Rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing and irrigation, linking the building to environmental sustainability.
• A cooperatively managed photovoltaic system supporting self-consumption of energy and reducing reliance on external sources.

This approach reflects contemporary architecture’s ability to combine environmental and functional efficiency while maintaining a renewed and flexible spatial experience.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

The Climate Pavilion can be seen as an experimental model highlighting the potential to integrate architectural design with seasonal environments and the use of sustainable materials. It represents a limited positive aspect that can be inspirational for small-scale or educational projects. However, the project remains limited in its applicability on a larger scale or within dense urban contexts. Seasonal adaptation strategies, reliance on natural ventilation, and lighting influenced by external conditions may face challenges in larger buildings or in areas with more extreme climates, limiting the repeatability of the experiment with the same effectiveness.

Leaving wooden and metal materials untreated also raises questions regarding long-term maintenance and structural durability, especially when applied in high-use contexts. Reliance on sustainable technologies, such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy, is conceptually and educationally beneficial, yet it may require greater integration with conventional building systems to ensure continuity of functional performance.

Based on this, the project can serve as a rich source for architectural experimentation and analysis, encouraging thinking toward more flexible and environmentally adaptive building designs. However, it does not provide a ready-to-apply model for comprehensive implementation without modifications suited to context, scale, and practical constraints.

Reviewer

★ ArchUp Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis of the “Schwierte” Climate Pavilion:
This article provides a technical analysis of the Climate Pavilion at the 2027 Ruhr Region Garden Show, serving as a case study in multi-purpose seasonal architecture and material sustainability.

The design is based on the concept of a multifunctional “house of the seasons.” A central open hall forms the heart of the project, designed to flexibly adapt to the seasons: in summer, it functions as a shaded educational and social space, and in winter, it transforms into an enclosed market hall.

The structural and material system is characterized by principles of material sustainability. The structure relies on a solid prefabricated timber frame with exposed beams and cassettes, made from untreated local timber, including beetle-affected wood reused in the façade.

In terms of environmental performance, the pavilion achieves high operational efficiency through passive strategies. These include high thermal mass, cross natural ventilation, and maximum natural lighting through the glazed façade.

Related Insight: Please review this article to compare another project that integrates design with the natural environment in an organic way:
The Cabin in the Talabba Forest Project Explores the Integration Between Design, Living, and the Environment