This year's Serpentine Pavilion designed by Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has been unveiled in all its blue glory. A light-weight, latticed roof sits atop blue stacked triangles encircling an internal courtyard which becomes a rainfall waterfall when the weather changes.
Kéré is the 17th architect to take on the prestigious pavilion commission. A structure is erected annually, in summer, outside the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens, typically designed by an architect who forms an important part of shaping the global architectural landscape.
Cover image: Serpentine Pavilion 2017, designed by Francis Kéré. Serpentine Gallery, London (23 June – 8 October 2017) © Kéré Architecture, Photography © 2017 Iwan Baan
Serpentine Pavilion 2017, designed by Francis Kéré. Serpentine Gallery, London (23 June – 8 October 2017) © Kéré Architecture, Photography © 2017 Iwan Baan
The pavilion commission is always extended to an architect who hasn't yet built on UK soil. Therefore this is Kéré's first project in the UK. His practice, Kéré Architecture, is based in Berlin, Germany and he has designed award-winning projects in Mali, Yemen and China, as well as a number of schools in his home-village in Burkina Faso.
Francis Kéré, © Erik Jan Ouwerkerk
Kéré's pavilion is inspired by the nature that surrounds it. The structure looks to connect its visitors to that nature, and to each other. The roof mimics a tree's canopy, allowing air to circulate whilst offering a degree of shelter. The pavilion is not designed to repel London's temperamental summer weather, but to engage with it. If and when it rains, an oculus funnels water into the roof, channeling it into a waterfall before it's evacuated to a nearby drainage system to irrigate the parkland nearby.
Serpentine Pavilion 2017, designed by Francis Kéré. Serpentine Gallery, London (23 June – 8 October 2017) © Kéré Architecture, Photography © 2017 Iwan Baan
"Every path and tree, and even The Serpentine Lake, were all carefully designed," Kéré said when describing his experience with the commission. "I am fascinated by how this artificial landscape offered a new way for people in the city to experience nature. [...] I was interested in how my contribution to this Royal Park could not only enhance the visitor's experience of nature, but also provoke a new way for people to connect with each other".
As captured by visitors
The 2017 Serpentine Pavilion is open until 8 October 2017. Read more about it here.
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