location: Houghton Music & Arts Festival

type: Pavillion

services: Feasibility Engineering and Optioneering

credits: Designed by Unknown Works, in collaboration with Xilonor, ConstruktCLT, Studio Allen, Rothoblaas, ARUP, Charcoalblue, Klimstar and Rubio Monocoat and Houghton Music & Arts Festival.

The Armadillo is a groundbreaking timber arts pavilion built for the 2024 London Festival of Architecture. Responding to the festival theme "Reimagine," this structure pioneers experimental cross-laminated timber (CLT) architecture to create a natural spatial sound experience.

The pavilion features stepped timber arches constructed from 42 prefabricated CLT panels. Designed as a modular structure for disassembly and reuse the flat panels interlock to create self supporting arches, minimising the requirement for temporary works. The structure facilitates easy repurposing or relocation, maximising its lifespan

The Armadillo’s form optimizes natural acoustic amplification without creating feedback for performers, with angled panels projecting sound outward and gaps along the tessellating archways lined with silicone membrane.

The Armadillo is the UK's first external structure made from Eucalyptus-based CLT, offering superior durability and water resistance compared to traditional Spruce or Pine CLT. After its June residency at Trinity Buoy Wharf, the pavilion was relocated to Norfolk's Houghton Music & Arts Festival.