Pangolin Pavilion

Pangolins are one of the most trafficked mammals in the world. They could extinct before we realise they exist. They are trafficked for their scales, which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine, for their meat, a high-end delicacy in parts of the world and their blood which is considered as a healing tonic.


These weird looking creatures are actually very friendly and harmless. The scales that form the skin protect them from other dangerous animals. We wanted this pavilion designed for a parametric design workshop to teach students work with new computational design tools, and yet spread awareness about this endangered species which we used an inspiration for form finding.


Nature has provided us some best solutions. All we need to do is to observe not obstruct. Scales on pangolins help in protecting them from harmful predators and regulating heat from body. In this installation we wanted to capture that essence and demonstrate how future forms can be designed to regulate heat inside buildings using advanced computational design tools and fabrication methods. We wanted to demonstrate that natural materials and technology can build habitat for better not worse.