2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, Kensington Gardens, completion

The 2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei, opened on i June 2012 in Kensington Gardens, London, UK.

Eleven columns characterising each past pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure  support a floating platform roof, which can collect rainwater. The pavilion's interior is clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth.


Below is a video of some of the preparation and completion of the pavilion:

Serpentine Gallery website.

2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, Kensington Gardens

2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, preparations, by Cybermyth13.

In Kensington Gardens, preparations are under way for the 2012 Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. The space for the pavilion is created by excavation under the lawn that was used by the previous pavilions. Eleven columns characterising each past pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure will support a floating platform roof. The pavilion's interior will be clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth.

Serpentine Gallery website.

2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Hortus Conclusus by Peter Zumthor

2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Hortus Conclusus by Peter Zumthor, photo by Cybermyth13.

This year's Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, Hortus Conclsus, was very different from last year's Red Pavilion below. The 2011 pavilion by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor was a enclosed space with a garden by the Dutch designer Piet Oudolf. It seemed a much quieter space that provided an escape from the bustle of the modern city.

For other pictuers of the pavilion see my 2011 pavilion set on Flickr.

2010 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Red Pavilion by Jean Nouvel

For other pictures of the 2010 pavilion by Jean Nouvel, see this 2010 set on Flickr.