Smiljan Radic’s 2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is unveiled in London’s Kensington Gardens

Exterior view of the light grey, curved 2014 Serpentine Pavilion by Smiljan Radic during the day. The structure sits on large stones and is surrounded by greenery

The 2014 Serpentine Pavilion by Smiljan Radic comprises a translucent round shell made of glass-reinforced plastic, moulded in a ring shape that sits on large stones. Photography: Iwan Baan

(Image credit: Iwan Baan)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 4 October 2022

A shimmering, shell-like volume resting on rocks has arrived in London's Kensington Gardens, courtesy of the Serpentine Gallery. Designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radic, it is the 14th Serpentine Pavilion in the esteemed gallery's series of summer commissions from leading architects for the capital.

View of the illuminated 2013 Serpentine Pavilion by Sou Fujimoto in the evening - an irregular shaped white grid style structure on a grassy area

See past Serpentine Gallery Pavilions

Recalling a modern-day Neolithic Dolmen, Radic's Pavilion comprises a translucent structure, made from glass-reinforced plastic, moulded in a ring shape that sits on quarry stones. The pavilion sits lightly on its firm base, offering shelter from the elements to the park's visitors, while its translucent material filters soft light through to the main multi-purpose, timber-floored area.

'I am not a creator of new shapes', said Radic, when we spoke to him earlier in the year about his design approach (see our latest issue, W*183, for the full article). 'I always want to begin from a project that I thought about or saw before, or existing sketches, or architectural history, but I never start with a white page. I always use references.' And so he did with this project, drawing from an earlier work entitled The Castle of the Selfish Giant (in turn inspired by Oscar Wilde's famous story), which also takes a shell-like form.

For the Serpentine commission, Radic also intended to play with the idea of the folly. 'It has been used historically in big gardens and parks, always proposing something extravagant, an atmosphere of other places,' he says. 'This is a fake ruin but at the same time proposes a continuity. […] It helps dissolve the limits between architecture and nature.'

Partly prefabricated in the York workshop of engineers Stage One (the stones also come from a nearby quarry), the pavilion was assembled on site in London earlier in the month. The engineering and technical feat was achieved with the help of AECOM, overseen by David Glover, who has worked on the pavilions since 2000. 'The design process in our day is so prolonged and this is instantaneous. It's the challenge [that attracts me to the pavilions],' says Glover. Adds Radic: 'It looks almost handmade, which sounds easy, but it was in fact really difficult to achieve.'

The Pavilion, including a café, resting and meeting area, opens to the public on 26 June and will also host the Serpentine's Park Nights series - eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory - over the summer season.

Alternative exterior view of the light grey, curved and illuminated 2014 Serpentine Pavilion by Smiljan Radic in the evening. The structure sits on large stones and is surrounded by greenery. There is also a building in the background — Opening to the public this Thursday, the pavilion treads lightly on its firm base, offering shelter from the elements to the park's visitors. *Photography: Iwan Baan*

Interior and exterior view of the 2014 Serpentine Pavilion from inside. The grass and stones below along with the sky can be seen through an opening in the structure and there is a person standing inside — Its translucent material filters soft light through to the main multi-purpose, timber-floored area. *Photography: John Offenbach*

Interior view of the 2014 Serpentine Pavilion featuring dark wood flooring, light wood tables and chairs and snake style lighting running along the ceiling. There is a partial view of outside and the exterior of the structure through an opening — A strip of light snakes its way through the structure, illuminating the interior at night. *Photography: John Offenbach*

Interior view of the North Yorkshire workshop of engineering firm Stage One featuring a metal framework, grey floors and various pieces of light coloured materials. There is a brown cardboard box in the middle of the floor — The glass-reinforced plastic shell was cast at the North Yorkshire workshop of engineering firm Stage One. *Photography: Leon Chew*

Closer exterior view of the light grey, curved 2014 Serpentine Pavilion by Smiljan Radic under a clear blue sky. The structure sits on large stones and is surrounded by greenery — Radic played with the idea of the folly for this commission. 'It has been used historically in big gardens and parks, always proposing something extravagant, an atmosphere of other places,' he says. 'This is a fake ruin but at the same time proposes a continuity. […] It helps dissolve the limits between architecture and nature.' *Photography: John Offenbach*

Alternative exterior view of the light grey, curved and illuminated 2014 Serpentine Pavilion by Smiljan Radic at night. The structure sits on large stones and is surrounded by greenery. The pathway outside the structure is partially lit up by lighting in the ground — The Pavilion, including a café, resting and meeting area, will host the Serpentine's Park Nights series - eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory - over the summer season. *Photography: John Offenbach*

Topics

Serpentine Galleries Smiljan Radic

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor 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) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).

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