The first photographs of the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion have just been released. Designed by Minsuk Cho, a Seoul-based architect and founder of the architectural firm Mass Studies, this year’s pavilion is named “Archipelagic Void” and features a distinctive star-shaped form. The pavilion comprises five different islands that vary in size, height, and form and are organized around a circular void. This approach to organizing around a center is inspired by the historic Korean houses’ courtyards.
Each island in the Archipelagic Void is designed to fulfill different functions while also connecting the Serpentine South gallery with the pedestrian pathways of Kensington Park. The Gallery will feature a sound installation: The Willow is <???> and Moonlight <???>, created by musician and composer Jang Young-Gyu, that combines sounds from nature and human activities in Kensington Gardens with traditional Korean vocal music and instruments. Distinguished as being the largest, the Auditorium with built-in benches will provide space for gatherings, performances, and talks. The Library of Unread Books, created by artist Heman Chong and archivist Renée Staal, will showcase donated unread books, and The Play Tower, featuring a bright orange netscape, will invite visitors to climb and interact.
The Archipelagic Void is mainly built from timber and adapts to the site’s slight slope. Each island of the pavilion features individual roofs with curved edges connected by a steel ring at the center, which allows natural light. Radiating from this main void, this approach contributes to the influence of a “madang,” the courtyard of traditional Korean houses.
Since 2000, Serpentine has commissioned a temporary summer pavilion designed by a leading architect. This series showcases the work of an international architect or design team that hadn’t completed any building in England at the time of the Gallery’s invitation.
The 2024 Serpentine Pavilion will officially open on June 7th and remain open to visitors until October 2024 in Kensington Gardens, London.
