The Serpentine has announced the official opening of the 22nd Pavilion, designed by French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, at Serpentine South on June 9th, 2023. The Pavilion is titled À table, a French invitation to sit down together at a table and engage in an open dialogue while sharing a meal. The interior space of the pavilion is defined by the large table that encircles the perimeter, offering an opportunity for conviviality and the sharing of ideas, concerns, joys, and traditions. The 300-square-meter structure, inspired by the architect’s Mediterranean heritage, is designed to be lightweight and fully demountable to ensure a minimal carbon footprint. The Serpentine Pavilion will be open and free of charge every day from June to October 2023.
The Pavilion features a wooden structure blended into its natural surroundings, inviting visitors to enter the circular interior space, sit around the table and join in the conversation. To create the tables and chairs for the Pavilion, Lina Ghotmeh collaborated with The Conran Shop. The two newly designed pieces of furniture, crafted from oak with a dark-red finish, dress the interior of the structure. The 25 tables and 57 stools contribute to the ceremonial display inside the Pavilion and translate Ghothmah’s invitation to convene, share and celebrate the exchange of cultures and experiences.
The Pavilion was designed to employ bio-sourced and low—carbon materials, inviting visitors to enter a dialogue with the natural environment that surrounds them. The internal space is defined by wooden beams that encircle the perimeter, creating a shape reminiscent of the surrounding tree canopies. The pleated roof creates space for a lightwell to mark the center of the space, while fretwork panels with plant-like cut-out patterns allow for natural light and ventilation. The modest low-roof structure is a nod to the vernacular buildings found in Mali, West Africa, used for community gatherings where current issues are discussed and decided upon.
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A Look at the Last 6 Editions of the Serpentine PavilionThe experience of the pavilion is enhanced by a soundscape created by artist and composer Tarek Atoui, based on Lina Ghotmeh’s sketches and Atoui’s ongoing research on classical and rural Arab music. An accompanying catalog, available from August 2023, will further develop the themes with contributions from Ali Cherri, Beatriz Colomina, Bernard Comment, Fouad Elkoury, Simone Fattal, and David Zilber. The Serpentine program also features “Park Nights,” the pavilion’s interdisciplinary live platform, organized on selected Friday evenings featuring arts, music, literature, and dance.
In today’s changing times, this Pavilion offers a celebratory space. It is endowed with a table, around which we will sit together in a modest low structure and in an atmosphere reminiscent of Toguna huts of the Dogon people in Mali, West Africa, designed to bring all members of a community in discussion. Here we can eat, work, play, meet, talk, rethink, and decide. – architect Lina Ghotmeh
The Serpentine Pavilion was launched in 2000 to provide an opportunity for renowned and emerging architects to research and experiment with contemporary design and to address pressing issues faced by the profession. In 2022, artist Theater Gates set out to create a space for shared emotional and spiritual support. One year prior, Counterspace deconstructed the structure of the pavilion to reference multiple social spaces simultaneously. Junya Ishigami's design for the 2019 pavilion takes the form of a slate sheet rising from the landscape of the park, while in 2018, Frida Escobedo created an enclosed courtyard to recreate a lesser-known feature of Mexican architecture.
