Each summer, the Serpentine galleries invite an internationally renowned architect to create their first built structure in England. This summer, the annual architectural commission showcases the work of Marina Tabassum and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), an architecture and studio-based practice based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Along the north-south axis of the park, A Capsule in Time features an elongated capsule-like form with a central court that aligns with Serpentine South’s bell tower. The structure is comprised of four wooden sculptural forms with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light when it enters the space. Integral to Tabassum’s design is a kinetic element where one of the capsule forms is able to move, connect and transform the Pavilion into a new space.
Tabassum’s design draws on the history and architectural tradition of Shamiyana tents or awnings of South Asia. Similarly kinetic in their function, these structures are made of fabric supported by bamboo poles and are commonly erected for outdoor gatherings and celebrations.
Tabassum is a Professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She held the Norman Foster Chair at Yale University in 2023 and has taught as a visiting professor at numerous universities, including the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, USA; the University of Toronto, Canada; and BRAC University, Bangladesh. She received an Honorary Doctorate from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and served as academic director at the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements between 2015 and 2021.
Tabassum chairs the Executive Board of Prokritee, a fair-trade organisation that promotes crafts and provides livelihood to thousands of women artisans of Bangladesh. She is the founding chairperson of the Foundation for Architecture and Community Equity (F.A.C.E), a non-for-profit organisation that focuses on climate adaption and architecture’s agency and responsibility in providing dignified living conditions for marginalised populations. F.A.C.E is currently working with communities to build mobile modular housing (known as Khudi Bari) in various geographically and climatically challenged locations in Bangladesh.
A Capsule in Time is on display at Serpentine Pavilion from 6 June – 26 October 2025.
