The Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde park is about to open it’s latest temporary structure architecture installation with the Summer Pavilion 2015, designed by the Spanish duo of José Selgas and Lucía Cano. The rainbow-coloured domes, passageways and secret corridor that make up the structure will mark the 15th year for the exhibition with a very bright and flamboyant creation that has shades of Antoni Gaudí, bringing a new take on Catalan Modernism.
The Pavilion will be free to the public as ever and is set to open in the grounds of the Serpentine Gallery on the 25th June 2015, running right the way throughout the summer months until the 18th October 2015, so there’s plenty of times to catch it, whether you live in the capital or you’re further afield. For anyone that is super keen to get in on the action as soon as possible, the Serpentine Gallery will also be hosting a Park Nights 2015 prelude event on the 23rd June 2015, featuring both José Selgas and Lucía Cano, along with 2014‘s architect Smiljan Radic and 2013‘s Sou Fujimoto. Tickets cost £7 as standard with £6 concessions available.
You can see the indicative external CGI impression of the pavilion in the image above, but as with all years really, it’s difficult to tell just how impressive it’s going to be until you’ve seen it for yourself. The amorphous polygon structure and splash of sheer colour will give the interior psychedelic kaleidoscopic feel, while also tipping its hat to the history of stain glass windows in the architecture of churches and cathedrals.
The two Spanish artists, known for their collaborations through their SelgasCano Studios, have been building up a reputation for cutting edge architectural design, picking up a number of awards along the way. They managed to pick up the brilliantly named Berlin art award, the Kunstpreis in 2013 and went on to be names as the Architects of the Year by the German Design Council in the same year.
Their back catalogue includes the hyper cool submerged office in the woods, which they created in Madrid in 2009 as their head office, and the Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre in Cáseres, which shows their previous amorphous conceptualisation. It doesn’t take long when flicking through the SelgasCano image archive before you see the precursor designs that will have helped to inspire the 2015 Summer Pavilion. Bright colours, windows on nature, asymmetric shapes, long and flowing lines and a playful understanding of light are big themes for the José Selgas and Lucía Cano and they’ve been combined in their work for the Serpentine Gallery.
With fifteen years under its belt, the annual Summer Pavilion has become a key feature in the exhibition season and it’s one of the must-see events in London this summer. It’s looking like it’s going to be another impressive temporary construction that will draw a lot of people under its polygon combed roof on the lawn outside the gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens. With a large social gathering space in the centre of the design containing the mandatory cafe that forms a part of the Gallery’s architectural criteria, it should be as much fun as it is inspirational.
Going to this exhibition next weekend. This review has sparked my interest and excitement for the visit. I can’t wait!