Frida Escobedo is the first solo woman since Zaha Hadid to design a Serpentine Pavilion
Frida Escobedo has been added to the list of esteemed Serpentine Pavilion allum. Following in the blueprints of Francis Kéré last year, and BIG in 2016, the Mexican architect will be the first solo woman to take on the challenge since the late Zaha Hadid in 2000.
Selected by Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist and CEO Yana Peel, with help from advisors David Adjaye and Richard Rogers, Escobedo is also the youngest architect to be chosen for the project in its 18-year history. Born in 1979 in Mexico City, Escobedo established a studio in her home town 12 years ago. She has become known for her championing of Mexican design inspirations and practices, something she intends to convey in her Serpentine Pavilion commission, which features a courtyard enclosed by dark latticed walls, intended as a play on the celosia – a common trope in Mexican architecture that allows breeze to flow through buildings.
In what the architect describes as ‘a meeting of material and historical inspirations’, the courtyard design will also be site-specific to London. Along with positioning the interior wall of the courtyard along the Greenwich Meridian line (a summation of the British timezone, established in 1851), Escobedo will also use a palate of British materials (namely cement and wood), chosen for their atmospheric, dark qualities.
Widely acknowledged as one of the more challenging briefs in architecture thanks to its short six-month time frame, and the Pavilion’s multi-function as both performance area, object of art and public installation, Yana Peel believes Escobedo has hit the nail on the head. ‘It promises to be a place of both deep reflection and dynamic encounter’, she says, hoping it will bring ‘the urgency of art and architecture to the widest audiences.’
The commission follows a string of international successes for Escobedo. She impressed last year at the Chicago Architecture Bienniale, with her multi-levelled gathering place that overhauled a reading room of the old Chicago Convention Centre library, and for giving the former studio and home of Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros a new lease of life in 2012. Her eclectic oeuvre also includes interior architecture for Aesop, and a commission for the V&A Museum in London. This new, highly public commission – a meeting of timezones, functions and cultures – promises to share Escobedo’s work with a larger audience, offering her practice more of the widespread recognition it deserves.
INFORMATION
From 15 June to 7 October 2018. For more information, visit the Serpentine Pavilion website and Frida Escobedo’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
Remembering Richard Serra (1938-2024), American art’s man of steel
American artist Richard Serra, whose vast sculptures transformed landscapes around the world, has died aged 85
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soul
From small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Corfu hotel Domes Miramare redefines beachfront bliss
Make like Jackie O at Corfu hotel Domes Miramare, a property with contemporary luxury and echoes of 1960s glamour in spades
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Don’t miss: Thea Djordjadze’s site-specific sculptures in London
Thea Djordjadze’s ‘framing yours making mine’ at Sprüth Magers, London, is an exercise in restraint
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Accordion Fields’ at Lisson Gallery unites painters inspired by London
‘Accordian Fields’ at Lisson Gallery is a group show looking at painting linked to London
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Fetishism, violence and desire: Alexis Hunter in London
‘Alexis Hunter: 10 Seconds’ at London's Richard Saltoun Gallery focuses on the artist’s work from the 1970s, disrupting sexual stereotypes
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Wayne McGregor’s new work merges genetic code, AI and choreography
Company Wayne McGregor has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a series of works, ‘Autobiography (v95 and v96)’, at Sadler’s Wells (12 – 13 March 2024)
By Rachael Moloney Published
-
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley confronts gaming, VR and rebirth at Studio Voltaire
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley has opened her first institutional solo exhibition, ‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’, at Studio Voltaire, London
By Hannah Silver Published
-
At Sadie Coles HQ, artists bring a playful sensuality to lamps
Sadie Coles HQ’s ‘Shine On’ exhibition in London features sculptural lighting by Sarah Lucas, Urs Fischer, and more (until 27 April 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Step into Yoko Ono’s immersive world at Tate Modern
‘Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind’ spans the artist and activist's work from the 1950s to the present day
By Hannah Silver Published