selgascano on their design for the 2015 serpentine pavilion

selgascano explain their design for the 2015 serpentine pavilion
(above) portrait of josé selgas and lucía cano
all images courtesy of serpentine galleries

ahead of the unveiling of the 15th serpentine pavilion, designed by spanish architects selgascano, designboom takes a look at the previous 14 incarnations, conceived by a host of acclaimed names from zaha hadid to sou fujimoto.

on june 25th, 2015, the latest serpentine pavilion will open to the public for a period of four months. selgascano, a studio headed by josé selgas and lucía cano, are the first spanish firm to be asked to complete the temporary structure, and are understandably delighted to have been commissioned. ‘at first it felt like a dream,’ explain the duo. ‘we felt we had a chance to make a private dream come true, but we soon woke up, fortunately, and we realized that it was nothing more than an architectural project.’

the architects, who are renowned for their bold use of color and implementation of unusual materials, have partially modeled key aspects of their latest design on one of the most significant british institutions – the london underground.

‘we were inspired by the people of london, by their movements and their relations, by the way they walk at top speed, how they perambulate, how they wander around. for us, the main representation of this aspect, and in fact the most interesting place in london, is the tube, the place where you can sense the real dimension of the city and its complexity; the natural complexity of the people.’

2015 serpentine pavilion, by selgascano
image © steven kevin howson / selgascano

the vibrant structure takes the form of a chrysalis, allowing guests to enter inside the colorful cocoon – a dynamic experience which josé selgas and lucía cano can’t yet describe. ‘the experience will be very personal and individual. it will be very changeable, depending on the day, the time, the light, your personal mood, and also depending on the current state of your recollections’.

the pavilion is to be constructed from opaque and translucent fluorine-based plastic panels woven into and wrapped in the structure’s webbing. ‘color is just one of the tools we use for a project, and like the rest of them, it is always there – we always use that tool. the only difference from other people is that we use a very wide lens. we avoid any prejudices about color, which is not that common in architecture, or in other fields either.’

2015 serpentine pavilion, by selgascano
image © steven kevin howson / selgascano

with only six months between commission and completion, the pavilion has a famously tight turn around – a logistical operation that selgascano jokingly describe as a ‘nightmare’. ‘the directors and former architects warned us from the outset that this would be the studio’s main project, its most stressful and absolute madness for delivery schedules. and that is just what has happened. the people we really can’t understand are the poor engineers, who go through the same process year after year!’

after six incredibly busy months the design team recognize that future commissions could be dependent on the pavilion’s perceived success. ‘if the building is good, we’ll get more recognition, and if not, we are going to lose the little one we have now,’ comments selgascano. ‘a lot of eyes are keen to thoroughly analyze this building – that’s really exciting, but it’s scary at the same time!’.

stay tuned for designboom’s further coverage of the 2015 pavilion, and see each of the previous 14 structures to grace london’s kensington gardens below.

serpentine galleries pavilion 2014, by smiljan radić
image © iwan baan