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The Serpentine Gallery’s annual Pavilion is a staple of the capital’s summer architecture calendar and it rarely disappoints.
Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei have worked together to great acclaim before on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games but this is their first collaborative UK venture. And it seems fitting that their new project should open just in time for the 2012 Games in London.
Given the team’s combined reputation for innovation and creativity, it is no surprise that they flipped the pavilion concept on its head. Instead of creating a fully-fledged new structure, the team’s design puts the focus on the previous pavilions, in a near-archaeological fashion.
In a quest to ‘uncover’ the former pavilions’ foundations, the ground was dug up to form a geography of patterns, low walls and steps that the visitors can explore - and sit on. The whole surface is covered in cork, enhancing the space’s acoustics, as well as giving a tactile quality (and distinct aroma) to the interior. Above the excavation are 12 columns (one representing each pavilion, including the 2012 one) that support a large floating platform roof. It hovers 1.4m above ground and holds a shallow pool of rainwater.
Taking the visitor below ground level and within the intriguingly sculptural landscape of the excavation, Herzog & de Meuron and Weiwei’s design acts as an homage to the Serpentine’s whole Pavilion program, inviting the crowds to discover the hidden footprints of the new structure’s predecessors.
“Elephants have been known to die of broken hearts if a mate dies. They refuse to eat and will lay down, shedding tears until they starve to death. They refuse all human help.”
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LOVE what she is wearing <3
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oh god, look at all that Nutella
