Part of the gallery’s annual program commissioning international designers and architects who haven’t completed work in England, Ms Sejima and Mr Nishizawa will construct a temporary pavilion for the summer.
It will resemble a “reflective cloud or a floating pool of water,” placed on top of a series of columns. The roof will be made of metal and will wrap around the trees in the park in various heights. Other translucent and reflective materials will make it appear to be sitting seamlessly within the natural environment.
In a statement describing their structure they said: “The Pavilion is floating aluminum, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings.
“It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing views to extend uninterrupted across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.”
Separate areas within the pavilion will provide space for a café and an auditorium to present public programs including performances, talks, films and a poetry marathon during the summer.
The gallery’s co-directors Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist called the pavilion a wonderful addition to London’s landscape and said the design embraces the parkland “as never before with an extraordinarily innovative design, which reveals the subtle play on light and perception so characteristic of their work.”
