Smiljan Radic to design the 2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

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Smiljan Radic has designed a semi-translucent
Smiljan Radic has designed a semi-translucent, cylindrical structure for this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, designed to resemble a shell
(Image credit: press)

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 Serpentine Gallery's Park Nights series

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

(Image credit: press)

large quarry stones

Its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones

(Image credit: press)

Vilches, Chile

Past works by Radic include: House for the Poem of the Right Angle, Vilches, Chile, 2010-2012.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

Interior of House

Interior of House for the Poem of the Right Angle.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

The Selfish Giant's Castle

The Selfish Giant's Castle, Santiago, Chile, 2010.

(Image credit: Smiljan Radic)

Chilean House

Chilean House 1, Rancagua, Chile, 2005-2006.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

house in Vilches

House A, Vilches, Chile, 2008.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

Mestizo Restaurant

Mestizo Restaurant, Santiago, Chile, 2005-2007.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

Interior of Mestizo Restaurant.

Interior of Mestizo Restaurant.

(Image credit: Gonzalo Puga)

Charcoal Burner's House

Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán, Metropolitan region, Chile, 1998-1999.

(Image credit: Smiljan Radic)

Extension to Charcoal Burner's House

Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán.

(Image credit: Smiljan Radic)
Ellie Stathaki
Ellie Stathaki

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).