A glittering tin can pavilion rises up in the municipality of Bat-Yam in Israel. The Bat-Yam pavilion is a honeycomb like structure made of old soup cans. The pavilion transforms an otherwise unoccupied lot into an inviting public space.

The Bat-Yam pavilion was originally created for the Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism in 2008. It utilizes a vacant lot on the corner of Nordau and David Hamelach streets currently “on hold” for a future construction project. The Bat-Yam pavilion designers chose the location for it’s beautiful grove of palm trees. Their concept for the space was to encourage people to identify with the public area as if it was their own living room.

Bat-Yam pavilion designers Lihi, Roee and Galit loved the sense of fantasy bestowed on the space by the palm trees. They chose to magnify this effect by using a common household object, the tin soup can, as a building block for the project.

A sense of the exotic and a choice of no-man’s-land, practically transparent to street traffic, sheds a new and different light on the space and reveals its latent potential.

The tin cans that make up the structure of the Bat-Yam pavilion are linked together at various points. The overall structure is held up by a supporting framework of metal rods. The tin cans are open at both ends so that pavilion visitors can see out and passerby’s in.

The International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism
The main objective of the International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism in Bat-Yam is to discuss and debate how urban activities influence the quality of life in the city. The biennale aims to transform the city into a better place to live. The exhibition, held every two years throughout Bat-Yam, offers exciting solutions to issues relating to the urban landscape.

The Bat-Yam pavilion is a successful example of a way to transform a transitional open space into a hospitable public space.

Source: Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism