A rocky canopy emerging from the ground is the essence of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. The architect is Jun’ya Ishigami and his design takes inspiration from a common feature in architecture: the roof.
This is no common roof, though. The pavilion is more a sculpted forest canopy, appearing so “light” that it could be blown away from the wind. In reality, the canopy is made out of 77 tonnes of Westmoreland slates supported by a grid of 106 pin-ended columns. The columns are arranged randomly to create a “forest”.
‘Possessing the weighty presence of slate roofs seen around the world, the cluster of scattered rock levitates like a billowing piece of fabric’ – Junya Ishigami
The poetic structure emerges from the ground of the surrounding park, as it had grown out of the lawn, creating a refuge for contemplation.
For Ishigami, the Pavilion is the perfect representation of his idea of ‘free space’ in which he seeks unity between man-made structures and those that already exist in nature.
“My image is of a flying black bird in a rainy sky, with the stones as feathers, the roof as the wings and the columns as streaks of rain.”
Ishigami is the fourth Japanese architect to design a Serpentine Pavilion, following Toyo ito, Saana and Sou Fujimoto.