Last chance to visit the Serpentine Pavilion 2023
Today is the last chance to visit the Serpentine Pavilion 2023 which closes this evening at 6pm. This year’s creation “à table” is designed by French architect Lina Ghotmeh, who describes her new project as “A place of meeting, togetherness, conviviality and joy. I began by looking at the circles made by the canopies of the trees, and set the structure back to avoid their roots, making it the least invasive on the living surronding nature as possible”. The Pavilion is free to visit for everyone like it has always been since the foundation of the first commission back in 2000. Lina Ghotmeh, the Lebanes born founding architect of Paris-based studio Lina Ghotmeh Architecture, is the 22nd architect to be commissioned for the Serpentine Pavilion. The project continues the designer’s practice focusing on sustainability and designing spaces that are conceived in dialogue with the natural environment that surrounds them. The design follows last year’s Black Chapel pavilion created by artist and designer Theaster Hermès Manufacture.
The design takes the form of a timber shelter having an umbrella structure and housing a concentric table, meant to bring people together, to sit down at a table and engage in dialogue while sharing a meal. It encourages shared experiences, conviviality and rituals taking place around the same space and under the same roof. Ghotmeh defines her approach to architecture as an ‘Archaeology of the Future’. Built predominantly from bio-sourced and low-carbon materials, the form of the Pavilion responds to the shape of the park’s tree canopies. Its design is informed by research around places of community and rituals that spans from Stonehenge up to the togunas huts, the traditional structures found in Mali, West Africa, that are used for community gatherings to discuss current issues and offer space for rest and shade from heat. The Pavilion’s pleated roof is inspired by the structure of a palm leaf, while the lightwell in the middle furthers the space’s integration with its setting.
Pics 1-4 2022 Pavilion Black Chapel created by artist and designer Theaster Hermès Manufacture, pic 5 Serpentine Pavilion 2019 Designed by Junya Ishigami, pics 6-8 Serpentine Pavilion 2016 designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), pics 9-10 2017 Pavilion designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré, pics 11-12 2018 Pavilion by Architect Frida Escobedo.
