De bouw van het Philips Paviljoen

PART 1 De_Bouw_1_start_building.mp4

Every film on a new building begins with the building that does not
exist yet. So, even this. 
A flat land of mud, the place of the Philips Pavilion in Brussels. 
Only white tapes mark the place where the Pavilion will be built. 

Here is the raise of the first pole, which is soon buried under the
guidance of the General Director of Communication of the Philips company, 
Mr. Numan (?).

0:27

Such an event cannot remain unnoticed. There are flags raised and there
is a party atmosphere on the place where one of the most important 
buildings of the Expo 1958 will be realized.


PART 2 De_Bouw_2_TNO_Delft.mp4

In the meantime, a first small scale model has been realized at a 
laboratory of TNO in Delft. 
Here we can already see the particular shapes of the building.
Through a complex network of bars, tubes and weights, they can reproduce
on this model all the forces that will operate upon the pavilion.

On the model they have attached tens of elastic tapes, and such tapes
are connected through wires to an electronic equipment for measurement. 
So, they are able to measure all the forces that have an impact on the 
construction.
 
1:27

By distributing the tapes all along the construction, we can evaluate
the impact on the totality of surfaces.

PART 3 De_Bouw_3_Vreedenburgh.mp4

The whole pavilion is composed of ruled surfaces, that are hyperbolic
paraboloids. This is prof. Vreedenburgh, one of the major supporters
of this approach, near one of the walls of the pavilion model. 
This wall is composed of small plates that remain in place because of
wires in tension. The tension strength has been computed exactly
and is tuned with special electronic pincers.

2:07

When all wires have reached the prescribed tension, this model allows
for a few calculations on measures. They also use polarized rings, that
are fixed on the walls. This small test shows how they work. 
A ring has been positioned within a grip. Now we apply polarized filters
and when we change the pressure on the grip we see several motifs of the ring.
For the experts, these motifs represent the various forces that operate
upon the ring. 

In this way, the technicians at Delft have provided a strong contribution 
to the Philips pavilion construction. 

2:52


PART 4 De_Bouw_4_build_wall.mp4

And this is the reality. To build the wall, we need a lot of sand. We need 
a lot of sand to realize the forms where the plates of the Pavilion walls are 
realized. 

These works are realized in a large hangar at a few kilometers from the 
construction site. The shapes of the wall surfaces have been created 
with floorboards and template shapes. 

3:30

Once the shape has been realized, wood bars are used to create divisions
that ease transportation later. For each shape they build a scaffolding; then
they level off and distribute correctly the sand. To yield a solid ground,
they apply a thin stratum of concrete. Now the grid can be definitely 
positioned. The cement flow for the wall plates can start. 

All works are manually realized, since no two stones, bricks or plates
are equal. 

5:02

And so, one by one, the strange walls of the Philips Pavilion are raised. 


PART 5 De_Bouw_5_assembling.mp4

In the meantime, the construction site was not lying idle. 
A cement base and the scaffoldings already reveal the particular shape 
of the Pavilion. It is a non-stop measuring.

5:35

The parts that compose the walls are correctly positioned.

6:02

In the meantime, a complete wall has been completed in the hangar. 
All the plates are numbered to collocate them exactly on the wall surface.
Now they can be picked and prepared for transportation. 
 The lower side is cleaned.

6:56

On the road towards the site of the Expo '58 in Brussels.

In Brussels, they are ready to receive the cement plates. 
The scaffoldings are precisely put in place. 
The particular shapes of the Pavilion is the reason why all the 
scaffoldings are realized in wood. 

8:12

One by one, the individual plates are put in position and the wall
is going to be completed. 
Compared with the size of the building, these walls are thiner than 
an egg shell.

8:25


PART 6 De_Bouw_6_Eindhoven.mp4

In the meantime, in Eindhoven, they have realized a Pavilion model 
that must answer a few questions about the exteriors and about the 
interiors. 
Here you can see the designer, Le Corbusier. 
And here he again, engineer Kalff, constructor Duyster, LC's assistant 
Iannis Xenakis discuss about the problems related to the construction.

8:49

Also the electrotechnical service is not lying idle. Loudspeaker system
are put into place to see what is possible to realize with a special 
sequence. 
Wires, wires, again wires, kilometers long.

9:11


PART 7 De_Bouw_7_external_wires.mp4

Wires is the current theme of the Pavilion construction now. To convey 
the necessary rigidity to the walls, the latter will be wrapped in a 
network of wires, like in the Delft model. 
One by one, wires are put in the right tension strength. 
When this tension is achieved, the wire is fixed with a special tool. 
Now the whole construction site is very busy in fixing these cables and 
putting them in tension. 


PART 8 

This is the first camera shooting inside the Pavilion.  

10:20

This machine is filled with asbestos fibers. Such fibers are mixed with 
glue and are then sprayed over the wall surfaces of the Pavilion, where
loudspeakers are already installed.
This asbestos stratum will provide the necessary acoustic insulation and 
quality.