Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), have been selected to design the 2025 Pavilion, titled A Capsule of Time. Marina Tabassum’s Pavilion will be unveiled to the public at Serpentine South on 6 June 2025 with Goldman Sachs supporting the annual project for the 11th consecutive year.
Celebrated for their work that seeks to establish an architectural language that is contemporary whilst rooted and engaging with place, climate, context, culture and history; Tabassum’s design will resonate with Serpentine South and aims to prompt a dialogue between the permanent and the ephemeral nature of the commission.
Elongated in the north-south direction, the 2025 Pavilion 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. Central to Tabassum’s design is a kinetic element where one of the capsule forms is able to move and connect, transforming the Pavilion into a new space.
Marina Tabassum, Architect, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) said: “We are thrilled to be selected as the architect of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. When conceiving our design, we reflected on the transient nature of the commission which appears to us as a capsule of memory and time. The relationship between time and architecture is intriguing: between permanence and impermanence, of birth, age and ruin; architecture aspires to outlive time. Architecture is a tool to live behind legacies, fulfilling the inherent human desire for continuity beyond life. In the Bengal delta, architecture is ephemeral as dwellings change locations with the rivers shifting courses. Architecture becomes memories of the lived spaces continued through tales. The archaic volume of a half capsule, generated by geometry and wrapped in light semi-transparent material will create a play of filtered light that will pierce through the structure as if under a Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding. The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to unite as people rich in diversity. The stage is set, the seats are placed. We envision various events and encounters taking place in this versatile space that unifies people through conversations and connections.”
Bettina Korek, Chief Executive, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, said: “A Capsule in Time will honour connections with the Earth and celebrate the spirit of community. Built around a mature tree at the centre of the structure, Tabassum’s design will bring the park inside the Pavilion. Its kinetic dimension will also harken back to the levitating element of Rem Koolhaas & Cecil Balmond with Arup’s Serpentine Pavilion 2006. We are grateful to all of our loyal supporters who make this groundbreaking commission possible and look forward to announcing a full programme of live events and public programmes that will bring people together around Tabassum’s visionary, spiritual and social structure. This is a milestone year for the Serpentine Pavilion Commission as we celebrate 25 years since the inception of this prestigious programme.”
Main Image: Serpentine 2025 Pavilion A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). Design render, interior view. Photo: © Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). Courtesy Serpentine.
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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