Inaugurato il 6 giugno nei giardini di Kensington, il Serpentine Pavilion 2025 è stato progettato dall’architetta bangladese Marina Tabassum con il suo studio MTA (Marina Tabassum Architects). Intitolato A Capsule in Time, il padiglione si sviluppa lungo l’asse nord-sud del parco come una forma allungata e scultorea in legno, con facciate traslucide e un elemento cinetico che consente la trasformazione dello spazio. Al centro si trova un albero di Ginkgo, attorno al quale si sviluppano le quattro capsule in legno che compongono la struttura. Il progetto richiama la leggerezza dei Shamiyana – tende cerimoniali del Sud Asia – e invita a riflettere sul rapporto tra architettura, natura, spiritualità e dialogo pubblico. Il padiglione resterà aperto fino al 26 ottobre e ospiterà una serie di eventi, incontri e performance.
Segue il comunicato ufficiale in lingua inglese:
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 — A Capsule in Time
Designed by Marina Tabassum and her firm Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)
Marking 25 years, the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion A Capsule in Time, designed by Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), opens on 6 June 2025, with Goldman Sachs supporting the annual project for the 11th consecutive year.
Tabassum’s Pavilion marks 25 years of this pioneering commission and continues Dame Zaha Hadid’s ethos of pushing the boundaries of architecture. Her mantra, “There should be no end to experimentation,” is the foundation upon which this commission is built, and Tabassum’s Pavilion exemplifies this.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
Celebrated for her work that seeks to establish an architectural language that is contemporary while rooted and engaging with place, climate, context, culture, and history, Tabassum’s design resonates with Serpentine South and aims to prompt a dialogue between the permanent and the ephemeral nature of the commission.
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is elongated in the north-south direction and features a central court that aligns with Serpentine South’s bell tower. Inspired by the tradition of park-going and arched garden canopies that filter soft daylight through green foliage, the sculptural quality of the Pavilion is comprised of four wooden capsule forms with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light when infiltrating the space. Marking the first structure by Tabassum to be built entirely from wood, it also employs light as a way to enhance the qualities of the space.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
Emphasising the sensory and spiritual possibilities of architecture through scale, geometry, and the interplay of light and shadow, Tabassum’s design also features a kinetic element where one of the capsule forms is able to move and connect, transforming the Pavilion into a new spatial configuration.
Built around a semi-mature Ginkgo tree — a climate-resilient species that dates back to the early Jurassic Period — Tabassum’s Pavilion, like many of her previous projects, considers the threshold between inside and outside, the tactility of material, lightness and darkness, height and volume. Throughout the course of summer and into autumn, the Ginkgo tree leaves will slowly shift from green to luminous gold-yellow. The selection of the Ginkgo was inspired by its tolerance to climate change and its contribution to a diverse treescape in Kensington Gardens. It is not susceptible to many current pests and diseases and will be replanted in the park following the Pavilion’s closure in October.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
In an era of increasing censorship, Tabassum expands on her desire for the Pavilion to function as a versatile space where visitors can come together and connect through conversations and the sharing of knowledge. Tabassum and her team at MTA have compiled a selection of books that celebrate the richness of Bengali culture, literature, poetry, ecology, and Bangladesh. Stored on shelves built into the structure, this small library also reflects the Pavilion’s afterlife once no longer sited on Serpentine’s lawn.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
In July, Serpentine and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne, will co-publish a catalogue to accompany the Pavilion. Designed by Wolfe Hall, the publication will bring together new and insightful contributions from the fields of architecture and art to reflect on Tabassum’s Pavilion and wider practice. Generously illustrated in colour throughout, it will feature essays by art and architecture historian Perween Hasan; architect, educator and Dean of Yale School of Architecture Deborah Berke; architect, writer and critic Thomas de Monchaux; writer, editor and curator Shumon Basar; and visual and experimental contributions from artists Rana Begum and Naeem Mohaiemen. The catalogue will also include reproductions of ink and pencil drawings from Tabassum’s sketchbook during the design development phase; a photo essay by Iwan Baan; and extensive conversations between Marina Tabassum and Serpentine’s Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as one between Tabassum and architect David Chipperfield.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
Marina Tabassum, Architect, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), said:
The Serpentine Pavilion celebrates the London summer — a time to be outdoors, connecting with friends and family in Kensington Gardens. We want to celebrate the tradition of park-going. On a sunny day, the play of filtered daylight through the translucent façade draws on the memory of being under a Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding. Built from a bamboo structure wrapped with colourfully decorated cloth, Shamiyanas can convene hundreds of guests on any occasion. The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to unite as people rich in diversity. How can we transcend our differences and connect as humans? The Serpentine Pavilion offers a place where people of diverse backgrounds, ages and cultures can come together under one roof and call for action, facilitating dialogues that expand our boundaries of tolerance and respect.
Bettina Korek, Chief Executive, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, said:
We’re thrilled that Marina Tabassum’s design for the 25th Anniversary Serpentine Pavilion reflects the legacy of past commissions and responds to Serpentine’s unique location in Kensington Gardens. The kinetic element of A Capsule in Time echoes the levitating features of Rem Koolhaas & Cecil Balmond with Arup’s 2006 Pavilion, and the Ginkgo tree at its centre roots the structure to the Earth and to Tabassum’s vision for evolved human connections with the environment. We are deeply grateful to our loyal partners whose generosity will once again make an incredible idea for the Serpentine Pavilion into a reality, to be enjoyed by audiences all summer as the hub of Serpentine’s public programme.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy: Serpentine.
Throughout the summer and until 26 October, the Pavilion will host a series of events, talks, performances and family activities. Full programme details are available on the Serpentine website.
To accompany the Pavilion, Tabassum has created a special limited edition three-plate colour etching, echoing the capsule-like forms of the structure. The edition is available from the Serpentine Shop.
The Pavilion is supported by Goldman Sachs.
