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| Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, Sou Fujimoto, 2013 |
With the recent heat wave, many of you may have already spotted the latest Serpentine Gallery Pavilion while picnicking in Hyde park. A couple of weeks ago, after a short stint on one of the Serpentines pedalos, I stopped off to have a look.
The temporary structure is designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the 13th (and at 41 the youngest) architect to do so. The annual Pavilion commission is one of the worlds most ambitious architectural programmes - after seeing the 12 previous designs online I really wish I had seen more of them in the flesh, there has been quite a range of funky looking structures!
Sou Fujimoto is becoming well known for his light and delicate structures and is widely acknowledged as one of the worlds most up and coming architects. Mainly inspired by organic structures his signature buildings seem to inhabit a space between nature and artificiality, re-inventing our relationship with the built environment.
The light and airy construction occupies around 350 square metres of lawn in front of the gallery. Comprised of layers of 20mm steel poles a kind of lattice is created, giving it a lightweight and semi-transparent appearance that allows it to blend like a cloud into the landscape. Mr Fujimoto wanted it to be a multi-purpose and social space, this is clearly demonstrated by the Fortum and Mason cafe situated inside, encouraging visitors to go in and interact with the space. I highly recommend a glass of rosé upon it on a summers afternoon.
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