The Craft Not Carbon Pavilion will be coming to the festival from Wednesday 7 June, made possible by our collaborators Studio Saar and Xylotek – Advanced Timber Structures, with support from Piveteaubois, HUB, and Gang-Nail/ITW Construction Products.

Featuring a woven canopy, the pavilion seeks new ways of thinking about structures. Responding to challenges of our time, it questions ‘is local material, craft and maintenance a viable solution for the future of construction in the UK?’

With the London Borough of Bromley joining the festival as a key destination for the first time, and community charity Crystal Palace Park Trust taking over the management of the park, the location is ideal to champion the power of community maintenance and craftsmanship to create a social and material common place of gathering.

The project brings ideas from a new learning/cultural centre in India created by Studio Saar with Webb Yates Engineers, and echoes Joseph Paxton’s temporary iron structure located on the site for the 1851 Great Exhibition, which itself challenged the future of construction.

A panel event is taking place at the site to launch the pavilion on 7 June, and the structure will remain in-situ throughout the month.