Carnival Pavilion
This course is designed for students interested in joining the build team for the 2027 CMU Spring Carnival Pavilion.
2026 CMU Spring Carnival pavilion, "From Frame to Folly," led by Sydney Mansavage (B.Arch ’27) and Emma Phelps (B.Arch ’27) of the Architectural Crafts Collective, with faculty advisors Kristina Fisher and Neal Lucas Hitch.
In partnership with the Architectural Crafts Collective (ACC), this course focuses on the fabrication, construction, documentation, and repurposing of the 2027 CMU Spring Carnival Pavilion. The course is designed for students interested in joining the build team.
Carnival — a century-old tradition at CMU — temporarily transforms the campus into an improvised urban ecosystem each spring. During the course, students will gain hands-on experience constructing a full-scale pavilion for Carnival, from prefabrication and on-site assembly to installation, documentation, and eventual reuse. The semester will conclude with the repurposing of the pavilion as multifunctional infrastructure in Pittsburgh's Garfield neighborhood, prompting students to consider the structure's full life cycle from fabrication and assembly to adaptation and reuse.