Guerrilla Shading Pavilion: A Reconfigurable Canopy in Camden

PEARCE+ installed the Guerrilla Shading Pavilion at Camden Collective in London, working with Shade the UK and local volunteers. Commissioned by Camden Town Unlimited and Euston Town BIDs for the Camden Inspire festival, the project was brought to attention by information published on 9 November 2026. Designed to be dismantled and reassembled at different times, the structure is conceived as a portable pavilion that provides shade in public spaces.

A portable frame made from five prefabricated panels

The pavilion’s main frame consists of five prefabricated panels sized to fit inside a standard transit van. The structural timber was salvaged and reused from previous PEARCE+ installations. The frame’s tapered profile is designed to accommodate wind loads transferred to the structure by the canopies, which extend outward in a cantilevered form.

The lower part of the frame does not form a closed surface. Visitors can hand-weave reclaimed hot-air balloon fabric, supplied by Cameron Hot Air Balloons and Inflate Studio, into this section to create an enclosure. This material is used in the lower part of the frame, separately from the canopies.

Naturally dyed canvas canopies

Naturally dyed canvas canopies extend outward from the main frame, expanding the shaded area in the garden around the pavilion. The canopies were developed with artist Auda Sakho. The project team also includes Shade the UK and local volunteers who took part in the build, alongside PEARCE+.

Project information lists Owen Pearce as lead architect. The design team comprises Owen Hughes Pearce, Ken Pearce, Sam Bray, Charlotte Martin, Hannah Innes and Tim Lyddon. Structural engineering was undertaken by Root Workshop and Momentum Structural Engineers, while materials were donated by Cameron Balloons and Inflate Studio.

An open-source guide accompanying the pavilion

Rather than being designed as a structure that would be left unused after a single event, the pavilion was conceived as shade infrastructure that can be reassembled at different times. However, the project information does not specify the structure’s overall dimensions, installation time, cost or the equipment required for reassembly. No details have been shared about how it could be used at other sites.

Camden Inspire and PEARCE+ also published an open-source guide titled Guerrilla Shading Our City. The guide brings together different shading approaches, from DIY external blinds and tensile canopies to urban tree planting and municipal planning permissions. Although the source describes the guide as open source, it does not provide details of its usage licence.

Implications for architecture and visualization workflows

For architecture and interior design teams working on public spaces, the project brings reusable materials, portability and user participation together in one design. Designing the panels to be transportable in a vehicle makes the logistics of temporary structures part of the design process. However, as dimensions and installation details have not been published, this information would need to be clarified before adapting a similar system to another site.

Archviz teams can show the panel arrangement, the canopies’ impact on the shaded area, and the enclosure visitors create with fabric in the lower section. The source does not mention specific software, hardware or digital fabrication methods, so no conclusions can be drawn about compatibility or hardware requirements. Teams moving toward implementation should assess material sourcing, transport and reassembly conditions, and review the licence details before using the guide.