Luminescents Pavilion

Introduction

MANE, the French fragrance group, commissioned MEAN* Middle East Architecture Network to design a temporary pop-up at Dubai World Trade Centre. The pavilion represented MANE at a global industry convention in Dubai. 'Luminescents' hosted ten scents by ten perfumers, which visitors discovered one by one as they walked through.

‍Austere Outside, Light Within
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The floor plan of the structure is symmetrical. The circulation directs the visitor in a zig-zag through the space to experience the different scents.

Behind the austere, monolithic exterior, the interior is made of light fabric strips. The fabric was dyed in tones of yellow, chosen as a color of hope. Each module had a gradual transition of color from a dark shade to a light shade. The lightest shade is Pantone’s ‘Illuminating’, one of its two colors of the year for 2021, which surrounds the black pedestals that host each of the fragrances.

‍Generating Complexity With Modularity
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'Luminescents' was made of 24 modules of six types. The modules close the structure on its sides and hide the interior from the entrance; the cascading fabric forms separate arched enclosures.

Each module held 150 pieces of fabric that vary in width and height; each piece of fabric was given an identifier from the computational model to guide assembly.
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The modules are triangular, with longer and wider pieces of fabric at the periphery, and smaller pieces of fabric at the center, generating a gradient in color and size. This used less fabric than strips of one size would.
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The steel structure hosting the modules is composed of a truss-like triangulated roof supported by fifteen columns. Keeping to six module types simplified manufacturing and installation.
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Hope And Light
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‘Luminescents’ was designed in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, around hope and light. The modular structure suspended the yellow fabric from the ceiling, above the scents.