Summer Has Arrived in London Along With This Year’s Serpentine Pavilion
We were overjoyed to visit this summer’s Serpentine pavilion located outside the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens. The Pavilion opened to the public last Friday, June 10th, and will stay open throughout the summer until the first week of October.
As we approached the Serpentine Gallery, not knowing what to expect, we noticed a stack of fibreglass blocks rising above the in a stepped wall. We then had a first glance of Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels, magnificent design.
The Pavilion looks different depending on the angle you look at it from. It appears rectangular when viewed side-on and its curving silhouette is revealed from other angles. To obtain such effects, Ingels used stacks of fibreglass boxes to create a colossal undulating structure aiming to create a sort of mountainous landscape on the outside and a cavern on the inside.
The structure combines different elements. Depending on the viewing angle it also changes from opaque to see-through. If you look at it in one direction it’s almost transparent, but if you gaze in the other direction it becomes an undulating opaque cave.
When we walked inside and noticed a bluish-grey light filtering in through the translucent fiberglass, we felt like walking into a glacier adventure! we then climbed the structure from the outside and sat on the outside overlooking the pavilion while a refreshing aperitif form Harrods Café.
This year’s pavilion marks the 16th edition of the annual Serpentine Gallery programme, which offers architects the chance to create their first built structure in the UK.
