Mill River
Pavilion
Mill River
Pavilion
Stamford, CT
This translucent polycarbonate and timber shed will house a large wooden merry-go-round donated to the city by Mill River Park benefactors. Standing at the park’s northwest entrance at the corner of Mill River and Broad Streets, the pavilion’s deep entry porch offers visitors a celebratory view of the carousel. The interior space of the pavilion is lined by a series of canted structural timber columns whose geometry gives the building both its architectural character and its structural rigidity. Large bifold awning doors open to the south to views of the park, its legacy cherry grove, and the river beyond. In addition to the carousel, the interior provides enough space and seating for riders’ respite and more organized events served by a small kitchen that doubles as a casual snack bar and a caterers’ work area for weddings and parties.
Perhaps the most novel feature of the building is its enormous sculptural cupola and triple dome skylight, formed from thirty distinct layers of cross-laminated timber, an innovative form of engineered wood used in this application for the first time in the United States. Each segment of the cupola was carved offsite by computer-controlled milling machines and assembled in place to create a contemporary counterpoint to the traditional hand-carving techniques used to make the animals of the merry-go-round beneath it. The complex geometries of the skylight, seemingly excavated in topographic layers from the pavilion’s thick wooden roof plane, reconcile the triangular plan of the building and the circular footprint and path of the merry-go-round. For those who look up, the open canopy of the carousel will reveal a constantly changing surface of wood, sculpted by sunlight and animated by the rider’s movement.
Photography
David Sundberg, ESTO