Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2008 designed by Frank Gehry
From 20 July until 19 October 2008
La Serpentine Gallery ha scelto Frank Gehry per disegnare un nuovo padiglione
temporaneo a Hyde Park, quest' estate. In apertura a luglio, è la nona struttura
per eventi che la galleria londinese commissiona, nonché il debutto in terra
britannica dell'archistar canadese. Realizzata completamente in vetro e travi
di legno, la struttura "avrà la funzione di una strada urbana, che si
snoda dal parco alla galleria esistente" a detta dello stesso Gehry, che sottolinea
anche che "il padiglione sarà simile a un anfiteatro".
L'articolata struttura prende forma dalla combinazione di imponenti assi di
legno e molteplici pannelli di vetro che sembrano librarsi in aria per poi
bloccarsi in diverse angolazioni creando un suggestivo spazio tridimensionale.
“Il Padiglione - spiega l'autore del progetto - consiste in una struttura di
legno che funge da percorso urbano attraversando il parco sino alla Galleria. All'interno, coperture vetrate sostenute dai pilastri di legno assicurano protezione da
pioggia e vento nonché ombreggiamento nelle giornate particolarmente
soleggiate”.
Disegnato come sede di incontri culturali, eventi musicali e teatrali, il
padiglione si presenta come un anfiteatro.
Una volta all'interno, il visitatore può sostare su aree terrazzate immaginate
su entrambi i lati che si affacciano sulla strada. Per la sosta dei visitatori Gehry
ha inoltre immaginato cinque piattaforme sopraelevate, situate lungo il
perimetro della struttura, che possono essere utilizzate anche come
palcoscenico o aree di ristoro.
Construction work has begun on the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2008, which will
give England the first built project by legendary architect Frank Gehry,
opening 20 July. The spectacular structure - designed and engineered in
collaboration with Arup - is anchored by four massive steel columns and is
comprised of large timber planks and a complex network of overlapping glass planes
that create a dramatic, multi-dimensional space. Gehry and his team took
inspiration for this year's Pavilion from a fascinating variety of sources
including the elaborate wooden catapults designed by Leonardo da Vinci as well
as the striped walls of summer beach huts. Part-amphitheatre, part-promenade,
these seemingly random elements will make a transformative place for reflection
and relaxation by day, and discussion and performance by night.
The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion series, now entering its ninth year, is the
world's first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind, and is
one of the most anticipated events in the international design calendar.
Frank Gehry said: “The Pavilion is designed as a wooden timber structure that
acts as an urban street running from the park to the existing Gallery. Inside
the Pavilion, glass canopies are hung from the wooden structure to protect the
interior from wind and rain and provide for shade during sunny days. The
Pavilion is much like an amphitheatre, designed to serve as a place for live
events, music, performance, discussion and debate. As the visitor walks through
the Pavilion they have access to terraced seating on both sides of the urban
street. In addition to the terraced seating there are five elevated seating
pods, which are accessed around the perimeter of the Pavilion. These pods serve
as visual markers enclosing the street and can be used as stages, private
viewing platforms and dining areas.”
Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director said:
“It is an exciting moment that work has begun on Frank Gehry's visionary
scheme. His Pavilion is remarkable and will be a landmark for London this
summer.”
The Pavilion will be the architect's first built structure in England. He is
collaborating for the first time with his son Samuel Gehry. Since 2001, Peter
Rogers, Director of Stanhope, has donated his expertise to all aspects of the
Serpentine Gallery Pavilions and he continues to play a major role. The
Pavilion is a fully accessible public space in the Royal Park of Kensington
Gardens, attracting up to 250,000 visitors every Summer and is accompanied by
an ambitious programme of public talks and events.
Frank Gehry
Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved to Los Angeles
in 1947. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of
Southern California in 1954, and studied City Planning at the Harvard
University Graduate School of Design. In subsequent years, Gehry has built an
architectural career that has spanned four decades and produced public and
private buildings in America, Europe and Asia. His work has earned him several
of the most significant awards in the architectural field, including the Arnold
W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the
Wolf Prize in Art (Architecture), the Praemium Imperiale Award, the Dorothy and
Lillian Gish Award, the National Medal of Arts, the Friedrich Kiesler Prize,
the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the Royal Institute of
British Architects Gold Medal. Recent projects include the Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain; Maggie's Centre, a cancer patient care centre in
Dundee, Scotland; and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Some current projects include the Lou Ruvo Alzheimer Center in Las Vegas,
Nevada; the Princeton Science Library in Princeton, New Jersey; the Hall Winery
in Napa Valley, California; and the Puente de Vida Museo in Panama City,
Panama.
Arup
Arup has worked on many of the Pavilions commissioned by
Julia Peyton-Jones. Arup collaborated with Gehry Partners LLP to help evaluate
the design strategies, choice of materials and structural typology of the 2008
Pavilion. Arup is also providing the engineering and specialist design on the project.
The Arup team includes David Glover, and Ed Clark with Cecil Balmond.
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Commission
The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion commission was conceived by
Serpentine Gallery Director, Julia Peyton-Jones, in 2000. It is an ongoing programme
of temporary structures by internationally acclaimed architects and
individuals. It is unique worldwide and presents the work of an international
architect or design team who, at the time of the Serpentine Gallery's
invitation, has not completed a building in England. The Pavilion architects to
date are: Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen, 2007; Rem Koolhaas and Cecil
Balmond, with Arup, 2006; Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura with Cecil
Balmond, Arup, 2005; MVRDV with Arup, 2004 (un-realised); Oscar Niemeyer, 2003;
Toyo Ito with Arup, 2002; Daniel Libeskind with Arup, 2001; and Zaha Hadid,
2000. Each Pavilion is sited on the Gallery's lawn for three months and the
immediacy of the process - a maximum of six months from invitation to completion
- provides a peerless model for commissioning architecture.
This year the project management of the Pavilion is being provided for the
Serpentine Gallery by Jonathan Harper, Joanna Streeten and Tim Morse at Savant.
Serpentine Gallery Park Nights
Park Nights is a programme of events that runs between July
and October in and around the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Frank
Gehry. Park Nights includes Friday and Saturday night talks, performances,
music, film screenings in the Pavilion and on a 50-foot open-air screen. The
programme will culminate in October with a marathon from the Gallery's
acclaimed series, conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Gallery
Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International
Projects: Manifestos for the 21st Century - Futurological Congress.