Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2006

Architect: OMA

Coauthor: Cecil Balmond

Address: Kensington Gardens, London, United Kingdom

Web:www.serpentinegallery.org

Project:2006

Completion:13.07. - 15.10.2006

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From Pavel Nasadil we received an exclusive set of photographs from the festive opening of this year's Serpentine pavilion by Rem Koolhaas (it will be open to the public on July 13, 2006).

“Serpentine Gallery, Thursday afternoon. The sun is blazing, even more so under the large helium-filled balloon. Inside, a breeze occasionally sweeps through the gap under the balloon, pleasantly cooling the visitors: ‘You need to get hot to cool down.’ The London aristocracy is pushing onto the aluminum platform – I bump into Cook, Chippi, Kaplicky, Gilbert and George, and I feel like I’m in a gallery of architects for architects. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of Koolhaas, who is circulating among an incredible number of acquaintances, friends, clients – spending about thirty seconds with each before moving on. He moves unexpectedly and quickly like the air in the pavilion. The whole space animates itself – dressed in the elegant clothing of his favorite Prada, he is like black ink sketching on paper. ‘Who is who is here and nowhere else’.
Polycarbonate walls allow shadows, silhouettes, and reflections to shift with every moment. Everything is made of transparent polycarbonate, including handles and helium hoses. When illuminated in the evening, the pavilion becomes a total UFO, an object-nonobject hovering above the ground." (Pavel Nasadil)

“Rem always claimed that he is not interested in shapes without meaning. For him, architecture without content is uninteresting. Even in the case of the pavilion, he did not want to abandon these two of his principles. He wanted a pavilion that would go hand in hand with content. From the beginning, he wanted it to be programmed - not only with evening readings and lectures but in a very packed way.” (Hans Ulrich Obrist)

The main feature of this year's Serpentine pavilion is an inflated egg-shaped canopy hovering above the lawn in front of the gallery. It is made of translucent material and glows from within at night. Depending on the weather, the canopy can be lifted into the air or lowered down to cover the amphitheater beneath it. The space defined by the Makrolon wall underneath the canopy serves both as a café and a forum for daily broadcasted and recorded public programs. The main event will be two twenty-four-hour lecture marathons (hosted by Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist) featuring prominent politicians, architects, philosophers, writers, artists, filmmakers, and economists. Guests of the marathon will include, for example, Brian Eno or Damien Hirst. During the same period, there is an exhibition of German artist Thomas Demand in the main Serpentine gallery, which also seeps into the summer pavilion of OMA.
The whole event will last until mid-October. After that, the pavilion will be for sale. The starting amount for this year will be 750,000 pounds (+ 150,000 pounds for dismantling).

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