Barbados Opens Mass Timber Performing Arts Pavilion

The Barbados National Performing Arts Pavilion has opened in Bridgetown as the first phase of a future national cultural center designed by Adjaye Associates, according to a feature by designbloom (9-23-25). Built for the Caribbean festival Carifesta XV, the timber structure will serve as an interim venue within the Barbados Heritage District masterplan.

The pavilion has been embedded into the permanent foundations of the 85,000-square-foot complex, minimizing waste and ensuring its materials will remain in use when the permanent performing arts center is completed in 2026. Plans for the final center include a 1,500-seat auditorium, rehearsal studios, public terraces, and cultural amenities.

Adjaye Associates collaborated with StructureCraft, which engineered an 80-foot all-wood compression truss capable of transferring 120,000 pounds of tension without metal fasteners. The design uses enlarged Okkake-Daisen-Tsugi joints, a traditional Japanese joinery method, with slender cables bracing the sloped columns against hurricane-force winds.

Mass timber allowed the component-based pavilion to be designed and built in four months. The sloped canopies will later be reconfigured as the roof for the permanent center, extending the life of the material and supporting Adjaye Associates’ commitment to low-carbon architecture across the Caribbean.