Civic Engineers have been working with Wayward Architects on the design of The Spice Pavilion, a temporary structure forming a central hub for the Kew Gardens 2015 summer exhibition.

The hexagonal shaped structure is formed from glulam beams cantilevering and sloping to support a steel ring beam forming a central oculus opening. The roof is supported by braced timber columns, with glass jars in between which are filled with various spices from around the world.

The key structural challenges of this project were creating a large cantilevering roof using timber and simple structural connections to create the unconventional roof shape in a way that could be erected by a volunteer workforce.