Chilean architect Smiljan Radic has secured the coveted commission to design this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park. The Pavilion, a landmark project in London's annual cultural calendar, will be the fourteenth structure designed for the gallery and has been, as per the Serpentine's tradition, offered to an architect who hasn't had the chance to build yet in the UK.
The temporary Pavilion will open this June in Kensington Gardens and will follow last year's cloud-like design by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto; it will join the long list of celebrated architects who have worked on a pavilion before, including Rem Koolhaas, SANAA, Oscar Niemeyer and Herzog and de Meuron. Radic, whose work has been so far mostly concentrated within Chile, draws on his earlier designs to create a semi-translucent, cylindrical structure, designed to resemble a shell. The pavilion will span 350 sq m and its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones.
The multi-purpose social space will also host Serpentine's Park Nights series, eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory.
The pavilion will span 350 sq m and will play host to the Serpentine Gallery's Park Nights series, eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory
Its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones
Past works by Radic include: House for the Poem of the Right Angle, Vilches, Chile, 2010-2012.
Interior of House for the Poem of the Right Angle.
The Selfish Giant's Castle, Santiago, Chile, 2010.
Chilean House 1, Rancagua, Chile, 2005-2006.
House A, Vilches, Chile, 2008.
Mestizo Restaurant, Santiago, Chile, 2005-2007.
Interior of Mestizo Restaurant.
Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán, Metropolitan region, Chile, 1998-1999.
Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán.
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