2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

…in London’s Kennsington Park designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei – where I made my way for a quick visit this morning before the 11am opening of the Sundown Schoolhouse of Queer Home Ec at the Hayward – is one of my favorites yet, modestly nestled into the landscape, a warm welcoming semi-subterranean cork-lined lounge covered by a thin sliver of reflecting pool. (website)

This year’s Pavilion will take visitors beneath the Serpentine’s lawn to explore the hidden history of its previous Pavilions. Eleven columns characterising each past Pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure will support a floating platform roof 1.4 metres above ground. The Pavilion’s interior will be clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth. Taking an archaeological approach, the architects have created a design that will inspire visitors to look beneath the surface of the park as well as back in time across the ghosts of the earlier structures.