On June 11 Serpentine Suite 2021 Designed by counter space, a Johannesburg architecture studio headed by architect Sumaya Valley, which is traditionally his first in the UK and is also the youngest architect to be awarded the task in the pavilion’s history.
The opening of the pavilion is a great signal for a reboot that extends into the city with the four installations located in different areas recognizable as four parts of the pavilion itself. Happy ending to a difficult year. The opening was actually scheduled for June 11, 2020, when initiatives taken to contain the pandemic from Covid-19 spelled out the complete suspension of the programme. crooked wing and postponement to the 2021 edition. In addition, after a year marked by compliance with the rules of social distancing, the Serpentine Pavilion speaks instead of meeting and sharing spaces located in different areas of London and most of all for the diaspora communities, those groups of people who, as a result of operations Migration, they rebuild themselves in contexts other than their original contexts. The biology most interested in these phenomena is Brixton, Hoxton, Tower Hamlets, Edgware Road, Barking e Dagenham e Peckham.
wing designed by counter space So it’s a homage to these places, in some cases it’s still there and in others it’s now abolished. These are religious places like some of the first mosques built in London: Al-Fadl Mosque and the east london mosque, from collaborative libraries such as Centreprice, Hackney; From recreational and cultural places such as Four Aces Club On Dalston Lane, the restaurant mangrove and the Notting Hill Carnival. Four facilities were created to close the topic and its relevance to the city. There are four parts of the pavilion installed in four places chosen as representative of this link: the seat of the first black publisher and bookseller in the United Kingdom beacon books In Finsbury Park, the multi-purpose venue and community center The tent In Notting Hill, The Arts Centre Albanian In Deptford and the new Becontree forever the centerpiece of arts and culture at La Valence Library in Barking and Dagenham, which celebrates the centenary of the UK’s largest local housing complex. Fixtures are not ends per se, but have a practical use for the places where they are placed and are used as displays for books, chairs, benches, etc.
Offering an answer to the scarcity of informal meeting places, the pavilion presents itself as a new meeting place in Kensington Gardens, its abstract form born from the superposition and union of architectural elements of different scales borrowed from the city itself. The different textures and shades chosen for the pavilion, which was made from recycled materials such as steel, cork and wood covered in micro-cement, are also inspired by London and its architecture.
according to tradition crooked wing It will host the Summer Program for Initiatives serpentine exhibitions to which the music program will be added for the first time, listen to the city, He intends to connect the pavilion once again to some of London’s neighborhoods and sounds. A scholarship program has also been established, supporting structures of support structures, To support artists from different London communities.
(Agnese Bifulco)
Images courtesy of serpentine exhibitionsPhotography by Ewan Ban and George Darrell
Serpentine Suite 2021
Jun 11 – Oct 17 2021
Venue: London, United Kingdom
statement of facts
Total site area: 541 square meters
Building area (excluding pedestrian walkways): 329 square meters
Usable building area: 150 square meters
Max total height: 7.25 m
Project team and consultants
counter space
Architect: Somaya Valley
Project Directors: Hans-Ulrich Obrist (Technical Director), Bettina Cork (CEO)
Project Leader: Julie Purnell (Head of Construction)
Project Curator: Natalia Graboska (Associate Curator)
Captions
01-07 2021 Serpentine Pavilion Designed by Counterspace, exterior and interior view © Counterspace Photo: Iwan Baan
08 Part of the Serpentine Pavilion 2021 designed by Counterspace for The Tabernacle, Notting Hill © Counterspace Photo: George Darrell
09 Part of the Serpentine Pavilion 2021 designed by Counterspace for New Beacon Books © Counterspace Photo: George Darrell
10 Part of the Serpentine Pavilion 2021 designed by Counterspace for The Albany, Deptford © Counterspace Photo: George Darrell
11-12 Part of the Serpentine Pavilion 2021 designed by Counterspace for Valence Library © Counterspace Photo: George Darrell
