Modern and contemporary art have been on display at the Serpentine Gallery in London since 1970.
Architects including Zaha Hadid, Daniel Liebeskind and Frank Gehry have been creating a temporary pavilions since 2000. To celebrate the 20th anniversary year, the team including Sumayya Vally, Sarah de Villiers and Amina Kaskar from Counterspace, have consciously focused on wellbeing and the environment in the context of London’s migrant community.
For the construction, the architects use both traditional and innovative techniques, as well as a variety of materials. The pavilion should result from a process of adding, superimposing, removing and connecting architectural forms.
“The pavilion itself is designed as an event – as a meeting of a variety of forms from all over London. These shapes are imprints of places, spaces, and artifacts that have partly contributed to the identity of London”, says the project’s lead architect, Sumayya Vally. The different elements should be visible through colour and texture.
The pavilion is made mainly from cork and custom-made K-Briq modules, which consist of 90% recycled construction and demolition waste, and are manufactured without a burning process. These modules generate 90% less carbon emissions than conventional bricks and are therefore particularly environmentally friendly.
Corresponding to the Serpentine Pavilion, there will be the accompanying program “Back to Earth”, in which artists deal with climate change and its consequences.
Serpentine Pavilion 2020 designed by Counterspace, Design Render, Interior View © Counterspace
Amina Kaskar, Sumayya Vally and Sarah de Villiers of Counterspace. Photographed by Justice Mukheli in Johannesburg, 2020. © Counterspace
Serpentine Pavilion 2020 designed by Counterspace, Design Render, Exterior View © Counterspace
