Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, 2009 Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2009

For this entry, I focused on my favorite of the pavilions that we went over in class. The pavilion in 2009 was designed by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. It is designed to be a sheltered extension of the park, and I think it is successful in doing that. The architects describe the pavilion as “floating aluminum drifting freely between the trees like smoke.” The pavilion appears to be like a cloud or a pool of water that float above the park. The metal roof sits on thin columns that give the structure a very delicate, airy look. The structure allows for people to move freely through it and does not block movement with walls.

I think one of the most interesting things about this pavilion is that it plays with light and perception. The reflective metal roof is interesting because it seems to expand the park and sky instead of breaking it up. I think they made a good choice in choosing a reflective material for the roof because it still gives the user a view and a feeling of the structure opening to the park instead of blocking the view of the park with a non-reflective roof.

The structure flows through the park wrapping around trees which gives it a feeling of blending with the park. In the model I made I wanted to show how the structure flows through the park and in between trees. Because of the way it is placed in the park and the reflective roof I would think that a person experiencing the space would feel as if the structure is a part of the park.

 

The space, sitting on the thin columns, is very open so someone walking through has the freedom to walk outside of the space into the park if they wish. The openness of the space is easy to see looking at the model. I could also see how the roof casts shadows over the space at different times of the day.