YUMING BAI
Fabrication

WikiHouse Pavilion

An open-source CNC plywood pavilion for Beijing Design Week.

Year
2017
Role
Led the digital-to-physical workflow (dot Architects)
Location
Dashilar, Beijing
Tags
digital fabrication · CNC · prefab · open source
The WikiHouse pavilion lit at dusk in a Dashilar courtyard

For Beijing Design Week 2017, dot Architects built a pavilion in the Dashilar hutongs using the WikiHouse open-source CNC plywood system. Yuming Bai led the whole chain from 3D model to on-site assembly.

Pavilion in the courtyard

Inside the pavilion

Seven hours, twelve volunteers

The structure went up in a single day, assembled by twelve non-professional volunteers, half of them high-school students. The speed came from the design: every part was pre-cut and ready to locate.

Volunteers assembling the chassis

The WikiHouse system: chassis, frame, skin

Why it matters

The project turned design for manufacture and assembly from an idea into practice, and it leads directly to his current prefab-timber work.