Serpentine Gallery Unveils Pavilion and Summer Houses

As ever, we are looking forward to see Serpentine Gallery‘s pavilion – this time by Danish architecture firm BIG, which will run from June until October. Described as an “unzipped wall”,  this modular structure will be made out of interlocking fibreglass bricks in a curved shape that leave an opening at the bottom to become a three dimensional space for visitors.

BIG’s structure focuses on a concept based on visitor experience

Following last year’s colourful plastic-wrapped structure designed by Spanish architects SelgasCano, BIG’s structure focuses on a concept based on visitor experience. The centre of the structure will be a void space that will host a cafe and events space during the day, and the gallery’s annual Park Nights programme in the evenings.

Alongside the main pavilion, four new “Summer Houses” will be featured. Designed by Kunlé Adeyemi, Barkow Leibinger, Yona Friedman and Asif Khan, these structures reference the 18th-century Neoclassical summerhouse – named Queen Caroline’s Temple – that is also located in Kensington Gardens.

Kunlé Adeyemi’s “Summer House” has been created as an inverse replica of the folly, which will be constructed from sandstone building blocks to fulfil the primary purpose of a summerhouse as a space for relaxation, whilst providing shelter.

Barkow Leibinger’s “Summer House” is based on the original design on a second 18th-century building that once rotated on top of an artificial hill to offer panoramic views of the Royal Park but was later demolished.

Yona Friedman’s “Summer House” is based on his La Villa Spatiale project, which proposes using mobile and modular architecture to allow cities to grow without needing lots of land and to help people create their own house designs.

Asif Khan’s “Summer House” draws on the Temple’s location close to the water and the way it catches sunlight reflected off the Serpentine lake. The structure features a polished metal platform and roof, surrounded the undulating timber staves.