Imagine a park pavilion and chances are that something circular comes to mind. From the Temple of Vesta in Rome’s Forum, to countless picturesque follies in 18th century English estates, it is the circular that often graces the landscape. This is not conceptual laziness but architectural logic: a circle can act as the fixed hub to the surrounding 360-degree context – especially one as varied as trees in a park.
Up to a third of the Serpentine Pavilions set up each summer have been roughly or precisely circular. This year’s 22nd pavilion, designed by French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, continues that ploy in ply and laminated timber. A neatly pleated roof fans out above a circle of screens that form an enclosure, screens fretted with a pattern of fern-like cut-outs. The roof overhangs to create a loggia around its perimeter – in classic folly tradition. The scalloped edges of its footprint curve back from nearby tree canopies, anchoring it in its glade next to the Serpentine South Building.
