Serpentine Galleries summer pavilion by Smiljan Radic
Organic looking structure by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić, made of sheets of fibreglass and supported by boulders, will be the venue for the Galleries' Park Nights programme
Looking like a giant shell, a crash-landed spaceship or even the chrysalis newly discarded by some gargantuan butterfly, the latest architect-designed summer pavilion to grace the lawn of London's Serpentine Galleries has opened to the public.
Serpentine Pavilion 2014 designed by Smiljan Radic, Photograph © 2014 Iwan Baan
The structure, which will remain in its spot in London's Kensington Gardens until 9 Oct 2014, is made of fibreglass sheets draped over a frame with the entire structure sitting on several boulders.
It was designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radic and, as befits tradition for the summer pavilion, it is the architect's first completed building in the UK.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2014 Designed by Smiljan Radic Photograph © 2014 John Offenbach
Occupying a footprint of some 514 square metres on the lawn of the Serpentine Gallery, the pavilion is a semi-translucent, cylindrical structure, designed to resemble a shell, which rests on large quarry stones.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2014 Designed by Smiljan Radic Photograph © 2014 John Offenbach
According to the gallery, the project 'has its roots in the architect's earlier work, particularly The Castle of the Selfish Giant, inspired by the Oscar Wilde story [of the same name] and the Restaurant Mestizo - part of which is [also] supported by large boulders'.
.jpg "The Selfish Giant’s Castle, Santiago, Chile 2010, Image © Smiljan Radic")
The Selfish Giant's Castle, Santiago, Chile 2010, Image © Smiljan Radic
It will be the venue for the Gallery's Park Nights series, sponsored by COS: eight site-specific events bringing together art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory and including three new commissions by emerging artists Lina Lapelyte, Hannah Perry and Heather Phillipson.
Chilean House 1, Rancagua, Chile 2005-2006, © Smiljan Radic, Photograph by Gonzalo Puga
Not well-known in the UK, Radic has completed most of his structures in Chile. His commissions range from public buildings, such as the Civic Neighbourhoods in Concepción and Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago, and domestic buildings, such as Copper House 2 in Talca and Pite House in Papudo, to small and seemingly fragile buildings, such as the Extension to Charcoal Burner's House in Santa Rosa and The Bus Stop Commission, Kumbranch, Austria.
Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán, Metropolitan region, chile 1998-1999, Image © Smiljan Radic
His design follows Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto's cloud-like structure, which was visited by almost 200,000 people in 2013, making it one of the most visited of the gallery's 13 summer pavilions to date.
