Barbados’s new 35,000-square-foot interim National Performing Arts Pavilion opened this month, just in time for Carifesta XV and the first phase of an 85,000-square-foot National Cultural Centre due in 2026. Perched atop what will become the permanent venue’s foundations, the “meanwhile use” pavilion sidesteps demolition waste by folding its timber elements into the finished complex—and took just months to install on site.
Anchoring the stage is the world’s first 80-foot all-wood compression truss, engineered by StructureCraft, which is at the global forefront of timber engineering, with design input provided by Adjaye Associates.
“Achieving the 80-foot clear span over Barbados’ new centre stage presented a unique opportunity: an all-wood truss, no metal, no screws,” according to Lucas Epp, senior engineer at StructureCraft. The truss transfers 120,000 pounds of tension entirely through timber, replacing steel connectors with enlarged Okkake-Daisen-Tsugi joints, which are drawn from centuries-old Japanese joinery.
“Structural optimisation transforms the traditional tension-compression webs into pure compression — a truss reimagined as an arch,” Epp added. Meanwhile, a LinkedIn post from Structurecrsft revealed that slender cables brace the sloped glulam columns to their foundations, creating a visible lateral-force system that can withstand hurricane-force winds whilst also celebrating timber’s natural elegance.
Prefabricated mass-timber components enabled design and assembly in just four months—a rapid pace rarely achievable with steel or concrete. The sloped perimeter canopies now shading the pavilion will later form the permanent centre’s roof, extending each element’s life and underscoring Adjaye Associates’ commitment to low-carbon architecture across the Caribbean.
When the Cultural Centre opens in 2026, the surviving timber frame and record-setting truss will envelop a 1,500-seat auditorium, rehearsal studios, public terraces and a suite of cultural amenities.
