Plans have been released for Frank Gehry's first UK piece – a pavilion and promenade connected to London's Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, which will be dismantled at the end of the British summer.
US-based Gehry, who has designed such buildings as Spain's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, has for the first time worked with his son Samuel on the design of the pavilion.
Arup is also working with Gehry on the design and engineering of the piece – so far the planned work will comprise of a series of large timber planks and multiple glass planes that "soar and swoop" at different angles to create a "multi-dimensional space".
Gehry says the pavilion will act as an urban street running from the park to the Serpentine 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," Gehry says.
"The pavilion is much like an amphitheatre, designed to serve as a place for live events, music, performance, discussion and debate."
Visitors will have access to seating throughout the gallery and an additional terraced area will offer five elevated seating pods, which can be used as stages, private viewing platforms and dining areas.
The Serpentine Gallery invites a well-known architect to design a pavilion space each year for use during the summer festival months.
Past designers have included Oscar Niemeyer (2003) and Zaha Hadid (2000) as well as Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond with Arup in 2006 and Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen last year.
By staff writer
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Gehry To Design First UK Work For Serpentine Pavilion
