Summer Pavilion Serpentine Gallery 2013 by Sou Fujimoto

The past weekend saw the festive opening of the traditional summer pavilion in front of London's Serpentine Gallery, this year's design being created by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. Since 2002, prominent world architects have been invited to design a structure for several months in front of the Serpentine building, which will host social events and become a destination for summer outings. Last year, Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron reflected on a decade-long tradition of summer pavilions with their 'archaeological project.' The most frequently invited creators have undeniably come from Japan. Eleven years ago, Toyo Ito was invited to London, in 2009 it was the studio SANAA, and this year, the prestigious task was entrusted to another Tokyo architect, Sou Fujimoto, who at 41 years old is also the youngest of all past creators.

The result is a filigree grid structure made of white-painted steel square tubes with an edge of 20mm. The intangible-looking indefinite form, composed of countless cubes, occupies an area of 142 m². In the center of the layout is a café made of the same elements as the rest of the building (roof, walls, stairs). Instead of stairs and seating areas, glass panels with anti-slip treatment are placed on square blocks. The railing is kept to an absolute minimum. Against frequent rain showers, almost invisible circular plastic plates have been inserted into the upper part of the structure.
The Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion 2013 is another refinement of Fujimoto's long-standing effort to blur the boundary between the exterior and interior. Fujimoto also attempts to erase the differences of classical divisions of structures into floors, walls, and ceilings. The result of Fujimoto’s designs is a more intense connection between humans and nature. With his grid-like sculpture, Fujimoto creates “an architectural landscape represented by a transparent terrain that visitors can explore and react to.” Fujimoto’s white cloud will hover over the London lawn until October 20.



More information >