Mexican architect Frida Escobedo, known for creating dynamic urban space projects, has been selected to design this year’s Serpentine Pavilion, a temporary structure that will go up in June for three months in London’s Kensington Gardens. Born in 1979, Escobedo is the youngest architect and the first solo woman to be tapped since Zaha Hadid kicked off the annual commission in 2000.
For the pavilion, Escobedo envisions an enclosed courtyard with dark lattice walls made from cement roof tiles and a curving roof canopy whose mirrored underside will reflect a triangular pool set into the structure’s floor. The walls are inspired by the celosia, a traditional breeze wall common in Mexican architecture, while the pavilion’s pivoted access references the Prime Meridian, a line of longitude established in 1851 the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
The interplay of light and materials culminates as an “expression of time in architecture through inventive use of everyday materials and simple forms,” Escobedo said in a statement. “For the Serpentine Pavilion, we have added the materials of light and shadow, reflection and refraction, turning the building into a timepiece that charts the passage of the day.”
Escobedo’s pavilion, which will be located on the lawn of the Serpentine Galleries in London, will open to the public starting June 15 and will close on October 7. Last year’s Serpentine Pavilion was designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré, the Burkino Faso-born, Germany-based architect. Take a look at all the Serpentine Pavilion designs over the years here.
Via: Dezeen