The time of wood in the Carlo Scarpa pavilion

Abstract

The building market offers numerous wood-based products, which are often more performing and suitable for different types of processing, compared to solid wood analogues. Based on the characteristics of this category of products, design tends to seek a durability that is not typical of wood. It, therefore, clashes with traditional practice, which recognises the natural transformation of the material over time and provides for its maintenance and replacement. The restoration of the water pavilion’s wooden parts in the Brion funeral complex provides an opportunity to reflect on the value of time, not only in relation to the material transformation, but also to the construction rationale, through archival research and site investigations.