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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion: The Latest Architecture and News

A Look at the First 10 Editions of the MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia

The MPavilion represents one of the most important architectural events happening annually in Melbourne, Australia. Initiated and founded by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the event was first launched in 2014 and has since brought internationally recognized architects to design a temporary structure in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens in a system similar to London’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. From Sean Godsell's solar-actioned panels to Studio Mumbai‘s experimental bamboo structure, each pavilion explores craftsmanship and contemporary design while fostering a rich cultural program for several months before being disassembled and donated to one of the city’s parks. As the latest pavilion was recently inaugurated by Tadao Ando, we look back at the previous editions of Australia’s most famous annual structure.

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Lina Ghotmeh Selected as Designer of the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion, with a Proposal Aiming for the Smallest Possible Carbon Footprint

Beirut-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh has been announced as the designer of the 22nd annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. Titled “À Table,” the French expression for sitting together to eat, her proposal introduces a slender wooden structure with nine pleated petals supported by radial ribs. Inside the pavilion, a ring of tables and benches invites visitors to enter, sit down and relax, eat or work together. According to the architect, the modest space and low-slung canopy is meant to make people feel close to the earth. The Serpentine Pavilion will be open from June to October 2023.

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The 2021 Serpentine Pavilion by Counterspace Studio Captured by Mark Hazeldine

The 20th Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace, directed by Sumayya Vally, opens today, on June 11, 2021, after 1-year postponement. On display until the 17th of October 2021, on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens, the project was captured by Mark Hazeldine. Check the exclusive photo series that highlights the story of the space.

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The 20th Serpentine Pavilion Designed by Counterspace, to Open on June 11th 2021

The 20th Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace, directed by Sumayya Vally, will finally open on 11 June 2021. After its 1-year postponement due to the global pandemic, the temporary pavilion will stay on display until 17 October 2021, on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens.

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Spotlight: Smiljan Radić

Mainly known outside of his home country for his design of the 2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, architect Smiljan Radić (born June 21, 1965) is one of the most prominent figures in current Chilean architecture. With a distinctive approach to form, materials, and natural settings, Radić mostly builds small- to medium-sized projects that flirt with the notion of fragility.

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First Look at the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion

Japanese architect Junya Ishigami's 2019 Serpentine Pavilion is taking shape in London. A series of photographs by Laurian Ghinitoiu showcase the project and its flowing, free-form roof. Ishigami is the second-youngest designer of the pavilion, and his work is known for a light and ephemeral approach. The design for the 2019 pavilion takes the form of a slate sheet rising from the landscape of the park, held up by pilotis that form an interior field.

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Serpentine Bans Use of Unpaid Interns for 2019 Pavilion Design Team

Following a controversy surrounding unpaid internships at the office of Serpentine Pavilion architects Junya Ishigami + Associates, the Serpentine Gallery has ordered the firm to pay all staff who will work on the design of the 2019 pavilion. Criticism of the working conditions of interns at the firm followed an email reportedly seen by The Architects’ Journal, with a prospective intern highlighting a lack of pay, six-day work weeks, and long office hours.

BIG's Relocated Serpentine Pavilion Opens as "Unzipped" in Toronto

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© Derek Shapton

BIG’s “unzipped wall,” which served as the 2016 Serpentine Pavilion in London, has been opened to the public in Toronto under the new title “Unzipped.” Having been transported to the city and rebuilt in collaboration with Westbank, new photographs by Derek Shapton show the completed pavilion standing as a temporary place of showcase and events in downtown Toronto.

“Unzipped” is the first Serpentine Pavilion to embark on a multi-city tour of this kind, before ultimately landing in a permanent home on the Vancouver waterfront.

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BIG's Relocated Serpentine Pavilion Nears Completion in Toronto as Landmark Tower Tops Out in Vancouver

The collaboration of Bjarke Ingels Group and Westbank are celebrating two milestones in Canada, as the topping out of their innovative Vancouver House coincides with the advanced construction of their relocated Serpentine Pavilion in Toronto.

The two BIG-designed structures, located on opposite coasts, have both been recognized for their architectural innovation. The LEED-Platinum Vancouver House was awarded the World Architecture Festival’s Future Building of the Year in 2015, while the “unzipped wall” is the first Serpentine Pavilion to embark on a multi-city tour of this kind, before ultimately landing in a permanent home on the Vancouver waterfront.

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Step Inside Frida Escobedo's Serpentine Pavilion with This 360° Virtual Tour

For readers around the world who monitored with enthusiasm the opening of Frida Escobedo’s Serpentine Pavilion, but were unable to reach London to experience it in real life, Photographer Nikhilesh Haval of nikreations is here to help.

Similar to previous productions of BIG’s 2016 Pavilion, and SelgasCano’s 2015 Pavilion, Haval 360-degree virtual tour explores Escobedo’s pavilion to capture aesthetic delights such as the Mexican celosias façade, shallow water pool, and curving, mirrored roof element. When inside the courtyard, don’t forget to look up!

Frida Escobedo's Serpentine Pavilion Photographed by Laurian Ghinitoiu

Following the opening of the 2018 Serpentine Pavillion this week, designed by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu has turned his lens to London. Ghinitoiu’s images, which you can discover below, capture the elemental beauty of Escobedo’s pavilion, defined by a permeable cement tile façade inspired by Mexican celosias.

Fusing elements typical to Mexican architecture with local London references, the pavilion centers on a courtyard enclosed by two rectangular volumes constructed using the characteristic celosia method.

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Frida Escobedo on the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion: "Mexican Architecture Is an Architecture of Layering"

After Frida Escobedo, Yana Peel and Hans Ulrich Obrist officially presented the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion on Monday, June 11 at Kensington Gardens in London, we had the opportunity to interview Mexican architect Frida Escobedo exclusively for ArchDaily. Escobedo shared with us with us the importance that designing pavilions has had in her career, the relevance of working on public spaces, and offered her thoughts on the perception of the Mexican context outside of Mexico. She also spoke further about the details of the pavilion itself and revealed where she would like the pavilion to be moved after completing its 4-month stay at Kensington Gardens.

The 2018 Serpentine Pavilion opens to the public on June 15th and will remain in place until October 7th, 2018.

Round-Up: The Serpentine Pavilion Through the Years

Lasting for close to two decades now, the annual Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Exhibition has become one of the most anticipated architectural events in London and for the global architecture community. Each of the previous eighteen pavilions have been thought-provoking, leaving an indelible mark and strong message to the architectural community. And even though each of the past pavilions are removed from the site after their short summer stints to occupy far-flung private estates, they continue to be shared through photographs, and in architectural lectures. With the launch of the 18th Pavilion, we take a look back at all the previous pavilions and their significance to the architecturally-minded public.

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Frida Escobedo's 2018 Serpentine Pavilion Opens in London

The 2018 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, designed by Frida Escobedo, was unveiled today in London's Hyde Park. Escobedo's design, which fuses elements typical to Mexican architecture with local London references, features a courtyard enclosed by two rectangular volumes constructed from cement roof tiles. These tiles are stacked to form a celosia, a type of wall common to Mexican architecture which is permeable, allowing ventilation and views to the other side.

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Photographs Capture Frida Escobedo's 2018 Serpentine Pavilion Nearing Completion

Photographer Francesco Russo has captured the construction of Frida Escobedo’s 2018 Serpentine Pavilion, as the structure nears completion in London’s Hyde Park. The images showcase the dark cement roof tiles used to construct the pavilion, which comprises an enclosed courtyard created by two rectangular volumes.

With an interplay of light and water, the pavilion seeks to evoke the sensation of the domestic architecture of Mexico, from where Escobedo hails. The stacked cement tiled visible in the photographs form a "celosia," a type of permeable wall common in Mexico.

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First Serpentine Pavilion Outside UK Opens with Design by JIAKUN Architects

A new Serpentine Pavilion has opened in Beijing, China, marking the first time the prestigious program has been implemented away from its usual home at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, London. Designed by JIAKUN Architects, the pavilion was commissioned by The Serpentine Galleries working in partnership with WF CENTRAL, and is located just 600 meters away from Beijing's Forbidden City.

Mexican Architect Frida Escobedo Selected to Design 2018 Serpentine Pavilion

London's Serpentine Gallery has announced Mexican architect Frida Escobedo as the designer for the 2018 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park. Escobedo, known for her work in activating public spaces, will be the youngest architect to have participated in the Serpentine Pavilion program since it began in 2000. Her design features an enclosed courtyard created by two rectangular volumes positioned at an angle. With its interplay of light and water, the design is intended to evoke the sensation of Mexican domestic architecture, while using British materials and containing references to its London context.