Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 / Peter Zumthor

Pavilion 2011, designed by . Photo by John Offenbach

The 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor was unveiled today. A design that ‘aims to help its audience take the time to relax, to observe and then, perhaps, start to talk again – maybe not’, the materials are significant in aiding the design which emphasizes the role the senses and emotions play in our experience of architecture.

Zumthor added that ‘the concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. The planted garden enclosed by this dark structure was conceived by the influential Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

The building acts as a stage, a backdrop for the interior garden of flowers and light. Through blackness and shadow one enters the building from the lawn and begins the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise and traffic and the smells of London – an interior space within which to sit, to walk, to observe the flowers. This experience will be intense and memorable, as will the materials themselves – full of memory and time.’

More info after the break:

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

“I am very pleased to be collaborating with Peter Zumthor and the Serpentine Gallery on this year’s Pavilion and to be part of this exciting project. My work aims to bring nature back into human surroundings and this Pavilion provides the perfect opportunity for people to reflect and relax in a contemplative garden away from the busy metropolis.”

- Piet Oudolf

The pavilion will be open to the public between Jul 1st and Oct 16, 2011.

Cite: Basulto , David. "Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011 / Peter Zumthor" 27 Jun 2011. ArchDaily. Accessed 24 May 2013. <http://www.archdaily.com/146392>

13 comments

  3. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Interesting pavilion, which really does what it sets out to do: create a secluded environment.

    The way the “roof” is slanted inwards really creates an embracing and protective environment, which at first creates some stress, but then makes you feel at ease and when that happens the space becomes very intimate with the greenery in the middle.

    This project has so much result with such minimal elements… genious.

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  4. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    I find the pavilion too closed and restrictive. Zumthor takes what is an open, expansive park space and turns into a private, and dark box.
    He doesn’t frame any views or path ways nor is there differences in scale, opacity or material. There are infinite design possibilities and this just seems to be the anti thesis to the park. Why should I visit the pavilion and not just bring a cardboard box for myself, to make my own ultra exclusive space.

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  5. Thumb up Thumb down -2

    One of the Guardian reporters that interviewed Zumthor on the opening made an interesting remark at the end. The pavilion gives an claustrophobic feeling and the ‘encapsulated’ nature is far from leaving a positive mark on the users. (link to the interview: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2011/jun/30/serpentine-pavilion-2011-peter-zumthor)

    And, indeed, if you look to the space left for traffic around the small garden in the centre, all crowded with tables and chairs, it does make for a half crowded / half too commercial feeling…

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  9. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    I’m not sure it makes sense to put something like this in the middle of a large open park where the restricted space is going to feel claustrophobic, it seems like it’d work better in an urban setting as a secret garden that you stumble across.

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  10. Thumb up Thumb down 0

    Must be experienced when it rains. I believe here lies the true beauty of the project and main driving idea behind the design of the roof.

    Thank you for the link Ziem.

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  11. Thumb up Thumb down +1

    I like the concept – but feel the design is lacking. The design of the sitting area is the main missed opportunity – the seating edges the garden, but does not really allow for a private contemplation of being “in” a garden. One just observes a garden.

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