Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009
(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
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Location:
Outside the Serpentine Gallery
Royal Park of Kensington Gardens
London
United Kingdom
coordinates:
Building names(s): Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009
Architect/Designer: SANAA + - Sejima & Nishizawa
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Other Information:
Completion date: Event between 12 July – 18 October 2009
Function:
Last update: 17 July, 2009 | Suggested By LT
a swirling aluminium roof supported on slender steel columns, winding among the trees over a space partly enclosed by transparent panels.
The pavilion, designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Tokyo-based architecture firm SANAA, has been described as a reflective cloud or a floating pool of water; it was just that today, holding a torrent of water and showing a shimmering vision of towering black clouds about to release the next flood.
“The reality is more beautiful than I imagined it,” Sejima said, looking up as the roof reflected muddy dogs and dripping horses and riders peering in curiously as they passed by.
Describing their structure the architects say: ‘The Pavilion is floating aluminium, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing uninterrupted view across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.’
Sejima and Nishizawa have created a stunning Pavilion that resembles a reflective cloud or a floating pool of water, sitting atop a series of delicate columns. The metal roof structure varies in height, wrapping itself around the trees in the park, reaching up towards the sky and sweeping down almost to the ground in various places. Open and ephemeral in structure, its reflective materials make it sit seamlessly within the natural environment, reflecting both the park and sky around it.
The Pavilion will be the architects’ first built structure in the UK and the ninth commission in the Gallery’s annual series of Pavilions, the world’s first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind that annually gives preeminent architects their debut in this country and brings the best of contemporary architecture to London for everyone to enjoy.
There is no budget for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion commission. It is paid for by sponsorship, sponsorship help-in-kind, and the sale of the finished structure through Knight Frank, which does not cover more than 40% of its cost. The Serpentine Gallery collaborates with a range of companies and individuals whose support makes it possible to realise the Pavilion.
Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Gallery, said: ‘Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa’s design embraces the parkland around the Serpentine Gallery as never before with an extraordinarily innovative design, which reveals the subtle play on light and perception so characteristic of their work. This Pavilion will be a wonderful addition to London’s landscape this summer. It is our dream come true.’
Separate areas within the Pavilion contain spaces for a café and an auditorium, where the Park Nights events programme will be presented, including performances, talks, film screenings and the Serpentine Gallery Poetry Marathon.