Peter Zumthor's Serpentine Pavilion is both a sanctuary and a playground, no mean feat for a monastic black box /
"I look at my garden and I see vibrancy, opulence, serenity; I see dignity, playfulness, infinite tenderness ... and in the larger beautiful picture, I discover small modest dots of colour that enhance the luxurious whole"
- Peter Zumthor
This year's Serpentine Pavilion is designed to be a place of quiet contemplation, but visit it on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the building is teeming with people. You would expect such crowds to detract from Zumthor's intended experience, but the reality is far from it. Somehow the space manages to be simultaneously tranquil and chaotic.
The wild garden, designed by Piet Oudolf, runs through the pavilion's core, providing ample distraction for curious toddlers who seem strangely mesmerised by the setting. Even when full, the chatter of fellow visitors sinks into a low hum, and, in fact, most sit quietly, peering through the flowers and looking out at the sky through its dramatic black frame.
It is said that the space is even more beautiful in the rain, the water falling off the slopes of its angled roof creating a reassuring cascade of noise. It comes as no surprise that Zumthor told Jonathan Glancey in an interview with the Guardian: "This place is designed for rain...the drip, drip, of the edges with water."
Some have criticised the pavilion. Zumthor is well known for his meticulous attention to detail, and his other buildings, such as the Bruder Klus Field Chapel and Therme Vals, exemplify this approach. The six months given to each commisioned architect by the Serpentine Gallery is perhaps not a time frame with which he is naturally comfortable. There is a certain roughness to the pavilion's form that does not sit true with his other works. But the simplistic nature of the building is also its strength. A transient and minimal space that allows nature to take the forefront, and in this aspect the pavilion is most certainly Zumthor's. His celebration of nature and environment is as present here as in any of his built work. This year the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is designed to be an experience, not a spectacle.
The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is open 10-6 daily until 16th October 2011.
http://www.serpentinegallery.org/
Zumthor's austere black box sits nestled in the Serpentine Gallery's garden, which in turn sits within Kensngton Gardens. In Zumthor's own words "something small has found sanctuary within something big".
The external lighting is a minimal strip suspended from a scaffold frame.
Concrete paths lead visitors to the entrances.
The pavilion is is constructed from a timber frame and sheet plywood which is overlaid with scrim held to the frame with black adhesive. The floor is also scrim and black adhesive mixed with sand.
Dimly lit internal corridors create a block from both the external world and the internal garden.
The visitor travels down these corridors with its staggered doorways to reach the inside of the pavilion.
Steel framed seating and tables are dotted throughout the pavilion, adding to the Prussian blue stained timber bench that lines the internal walls.
"The centre of my pavilion is a garden, it invites us to gather round".
The angles of the roof create shade and frame the sky, whilst the height of the pavilion walls eradicates almost all traces of the outside world.
Piet Oudolf designed the garden itself. An award winning garden designer, his recent work includes the renowned High Line project in New York.
Piet Oudolf is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movement which celebrates the natural architecture of the plant as well as its colour or scent.
Oudolf carefully chose a selection of plants including Liriope Muscari 'Big Blue' and Angelica Archangelica that will change and grow with each other over the three month lifespan of the pavilion.
Images and text by Claire Gittins.