Pavilions past and present 10 years on

2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion programme. Each year an architect is invited to design a temporary pavilion for the lawn outside the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park.

The architect must fulfil key criteria, in that they must not have completed any structures in the UK at the time of the invitation, and the design must be completed within a timeframe of no more than 6 months.

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion has become established as a platform for international architectural experimentation. Since the inaugural pavilion by Zaha Hadid in 2000, many distinguished names have taken part in the programme, including Frank Gehry, Olafur Eliasson and the Japanese duo Sejima and Nishizawa of SANAA.

The 2010 pavilion has been designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, whose international work includes the Copenhagen Concert Hall, the Torre Agbar in Barcelona and the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. His geometric design, inspired by the idea of play is rendered in vivid red. It stands on the lawn of the Serpentine Gallery only for one more week (until 17 October).