James Latham & UPM WISA Plywood partnered with the London School of Architecture to bring its 2024 London Festival of Architecture ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ Dalston Pavilion to life.
James Latham has been a long-time champion of the UK architecture community, helping specifiers across the UK make sustainable and high-quality building product choices.
That’s why, when the progressive London School of Architecture (LSA) approached them to partner with it on a special installation in Dalston for the 2024 London Festival of Architecture (1 – 30 June 2024), the distributor was only too happy to help.
Inspiring curiosity
Founded in 2014, the LSA is a new school for a new century, designed for students with independent minds not independent means. Established in 2014 to create a distinctive new model for educating architecture students. The LSA breaks down barriers by making architectural education more affordable and opening up alternative routes to entry.
For 2024, LSA aimed to showcase its work with CITIZEN, the school’s project delivery office led by Yang Yang Chen and Roy Coupland. The office works closely with makers, community groups, and organisations, giving young people in East London greater access to creative professions. With Arup and the New School of Furniture Making, they designed the Dalston Pavilion as a prototype for delivering collaborative, community-led projects.
The pavilion, inspired by the mid-sixteenth-century ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ typology, opened up to reveal an exhibition space displaying the LSA’s access and outreach work, engaging visitors and passersby. Once open, the structure was able to host outdoor workshops for young people. During this year’s London Festival of Architecture the pavilion hosted 22 events in the month of June, welcoming 458 attendees – the majority of which were local young people aged 11-19 years old.
You’ve got a friend in James Latham
As a non-profit enterprise, LSA relies on support from the industry and community for materials and resources. A passionate standard-bearer for the UK architectural, design, and furniture-making community, James Latham has a history of getting involved in causes supporting industry skills. For example, its ongoing relationship with Rycotewood Furniture College, Oxford.
It was an almost immediate yes from Panels Director, Nick Widlinski when he was briefed on the project. Particularly, he admired the scale and ambition of the undertaking as well as the choice of the specification team to use only timber as the primary material for the build.
Material choices
Upon joining the project, James Latham was responsible for selecting a suitable structural panel for the pavilion. The material had to be aesthetically pleasing, durable enough to ensure the environmental and security challenges of its outdoor location in an East London car park, and compliant with the school’s rigorous sustainability and ethical standards.
Fortunately, James Latham knew the perfect supplier who was also keen to demonstrate the efficacy of its products for modular and temporary builds.
The perfect ‘spruce’ case
UPM WISA Plywood is a worldwide respected manufacturer of low-carbon plywood, committed to sustainability and an ethical supply chain. Recognising these shared values, James Latham knew WISA’s Spruce Special panels would make a great option for the Pavilion.
Convincing the Finnish brand to come on board was straightforward, given their alignment with the project’s vision. WISA Spruce Special panels are well-suited for the application due to their light weight, consistent dimensions, and structural robustness, making them easy to work with and install on tight schedules.
They are also ultra-sustainable, using wood from certified forests and WISA® BioBond adhesive; which replaces at least 50% of standard glue’s fossil-based phenol. This partial-substitution reduces the carbon footprint of the already low-carbon WISA-Spruce by approximately 10%, without compromising technical performance or visual appeal. Aesthetically, the panels have a light and soothing surface that can be painted or treated to achieve the desired visual effect.
Unlocking creativity
The Pavilion was completed in 2 weeks showcasing the versatility of WISA Spruce Special. Constructed as a series of A-Frames and openable in-fill panels, the triangular-shaped structure complements the timber roof structure of the adjacent Holy Trinity Church.
With decorative flourishes applied to the WISA Spruce special plywood by Hackney-based art director Olly Walker, founder of OllyStudio, referencing the iconic Memphis School of Design, the installation became a venue for LSA throughout LFA, hosting a variety of workshops, seminars, and social events.
It also perfectly showcased the strengths and advantages of WISA Spruce Special, with the project fabricator even commenting that it was a pleasure to work with as a cladding material.
As LSA Head of School and Chief Executive, Neal Shasore, says,
“From the outset we had an ambition to work with James Latham, having been impressed with its work around promoting industry skills and sustainable specification. You can imagine our surprise when not only did they want to get involved, but also secured a donation of materials from such a prestigious, premium brand as UPM WISA. Its inclusion within the Pavilion was integral, contributed to the piece’s visual identity and the message we’re trying to promote around inclusive, innovative, and sustainable design. We hope this is the start of an ongoing dialogue with both organisations and that we can collaborate again, building further on our shared values.”
For more information on James Latham and WISA Spruce Special, click here.
For more information on the London School of Architecture, click here.