This summer two Nordic designers, Norwegian Kjetil Thorsen (Snøhetta) and Icelandic/Danish Olafur Eliasson, are to create the temporary pavilion at the Serpentine gallery in London, as usual backed by the engineering skill of Arup.

Thus the marriage between contemporary art and architecture in the heart of Hyde Park is now into its seventh year. This year the three-storey building, which contains 300 square metres of floor space, will be shaped like two upside-down cones sitting on top of one another. Long helical ramps wrap around it, taking visitors up to the top.

A place for meeting and entertainment, the temporary pavilion is an idea of Julia Peyton-Jones, who since becoming director in 1991 has made the Serpentine into one of the most successful galleries in London. Even the yearly fund raising party held at the pavilions inauguration has become one of the British capital’s hottest summer events.

It is particularly interesting and informative, especially if related to the trials of contemporary architecture out our way: assignation of the commission, and design and construction of the Serpentine pavilion (which must entirely conform to London’s building regulations) take place over nine months.  S.C.

https://www.serpentinegallery.org