Inspired by Ghotmeh’s Mediterranean heritage and lively discussions around the table over current affairs, politics, personal lives, and dreams, the Serpentine Pavilion 2023 is titled À table – a French call to sit together at the table to share a meal and enter into dialogue. As such, the interior of the Pavilion features a circular table along the perimeter, inviting us to convene and celebrate exchanges that enable new relationships to form.
Ghotmeh defines her approach to architecture as an ‘Archaeology of the Future’. Considering food as an expression of care, the Pavilion’s design is a space for grounding and reflection on our relationship to land, nature and environment. By offering a moment of conviviality around a table, Ghotmeh welcomes us to share the ideas, concerns, joys, dissatisfactions, responsibilities, traditions, cultural memories, and histories that bring us together.
Built predominantly from bio-sourced and low-carbon materials, the Serpentine Pavilion 2023 continues her focus on sustainability and designing spaces that are conceived in dialogue with the history and natural environment that surrounds them. In a new collaboration with The Conran Shop, Ghotmeh also designed two new exclusive pieces of furniture. Crafted from oak, with a darkred finish, the 25 tables and 57 stools come together to complete a ceremonial display inside the Pavilion.
The form of the Pavilion responds to the shape of the park’s tree canopies. Internal wooden beams that encircle the perimeter of the structure emerge as thin tree trunks and the fretwork panels that sit between the beams feature plant-like cut out patterns, aiding ventilation and allowing natural light to come in. The Pavilion’s pleated roof is inspired by the structure of a palm leaf, while the lightwell in the middle furthers the space’s integration with its setting.
The modest, low roof takes inspiration from togunas: structures found in Mali, West Africa, that are traditionally used for community gatherings to discuss current issues, and also offer shade and relief from heat. The low-lying roofs of these structures encourage people to remain seated peacefully and take pause throughout discussions.
Placing nature, the organic and sustainability at its core, Ghotmeh’s pavilion has been designed to minimize its carbon footprint and environmental impact, in line with Serpentine’s sustainability policy. The predominantly timber structure is light-weight and fully demountable, with a focus on sustainably sourced materials and the reusability of the structure after its time installed at Serpentine.
“The Pavilion rises as a wooden structure in keeping with the natural surroundings, inviting us to sit around exquisitely crafted stools and tables and take in the surroundings. Collaborating with The Conran Shop to create the tables and chairs I envisioned for the Pavilion, has been fantastic on this occasion. The Pavilion serves as a place of meeting, togetherness, conviviality, and joy, and the furniture serves as its focal point,” states Lina Ghotmeh.
In her design, Ghotmeh also honors the history of the Serpentine South building, which was originally a teahouse. Designed by James Grey West, the building opened in 1934 and was converted into an art gallery in 1970. In the summer months until the early 1960s, the café’s seating area also expanded to the lawn, which the Pavilion now occupies. Inspired by this history, Ghotmeh incorporated the Pavilion’s café menu into her design process, offering Mediterranean-inspired dishes made with local and seasonal ingredients.
The entire superstructure, including the timber-framed walls, roof and suspended floor, along with the small precast, low-cement pad foundations, is fully demountable using simple bolts and screws. This approach resulted in a very low upfront carbon footprint for the build and allows the Pavilion to be easily rebuilt, which will ensure that it lives beyond its Serpentine site all the while holding the memory of its original ground.
“The Pavilion has been conceived so that every piece contributes both to the delicate, leaf-like form and to the structural stability of the canopy. We set out to use simple, lightweight, and readily available timber materials to create a unique structure that focuses on people, the community, and its environment,” concluded Jon Leah, AECOM Director.