Serpentine Pavilion program gets a Beijing outpost

The world’s leading pop-up architecture program—the Serpentine Galleries summer pavilions—has spawned Instagram phenoms and head-scratching creations. Now, all of that architectural excitement is expanding from the original site in London’s Kensington Gardens to the Serpentine Pavilion Beijing. Located just 2,000 feet from the Forbidden City, the satellite will mimic the Serpentine’s original program with a temporary architectural installation as well as cultural events.

The inaugural pavilion is a slatted, curved-roof shelter designed by the Chinese studio Jiakun Architects, led by architect Liu Jiakun. The design was inspired by Confucianism and the physical representation of junzi, the Confucian model of an ideal person.

“The design is characterised by a the figure of the Archer, in the form of a curved cantilever beam that incorporates the forces of elasticity through cables stretched between steel plates,” the Serpentine explained in a statement. “Although modern architecture in Beijing has developed a series of powerful techniques to fight the external forces of fierce winds and unpredictable earthquakes, the Pavilion’s integral structures aims – like the Tai Chi Master – to conquer the harness of those forces with softness.”

The gallery will open in May 2018 and remain on display for six months.

Via: ArchDaily