CHAPTER 2: ORIGINS OF THE PAVILION TYPOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE SERPENTINE PAVILIONS

from Letícia Pacheco | Francis Kéré Essay

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

According to the New Aurélio Dictionary of the Portuguese Language (2009), the word Pavilion, from the French Pavillon, is a “detachable construction; barrack, tent.” It can also be a “provisional building, almost always, in fairs or exhibitions, especially international ones, in which the products and/or peculiarities of a country are exhibited”.

In his book, ‘100 Years of Exhibition Pavilions’, Moisés Puente associates the pavilion with a butterfly (the Latin root of the word pavilion - papillio - is very close to the French word butterfly - papillon, which suggests some relationship in the origin of the words): “[...] it flies, landing from time to time: with a life as short as that of this insect and its construction sometimes based on sails and tarpaulins, reminiscent of its wings”, as quoted by Jaekel (2017, p. 16).

It is possible to understand from the origin of the term, as well as from the general meaning, that a pavilion refers to ephemeral spaces, formed by structures that are easier to assemble and dismantle, that is, of less material and formal complexity, in addition to being adapted to the transport of their parts, which can often be reerected in another location, depending on the design conception.

The definition of pavilion described above is, above all, linked to the pavilions of the Universal Exhibitions that began in the 19th century, however, some authors highlight the role of imperial gardens and parks, royal or private from ancient oriental culture as predecessors of the first pavilions in gardens, and in European parks at the end of the 16th century. Information about oriental gardens, mainly Chinese, was sent to Europe by Jesuit missionaries and became references in the creation of western pavilions, especially the English ones (JAEKEL, 2017). This oriental influence allied to European experiments is crucial for the creation of proposals such as the Serpentine Pavilion:

The English landscape project, in which the pavilions assumed the role of shelter for a momentary being, rest, and refuge, inserted with the aim of being a moment of surprise hidden by the vegetation, is a fundamental part of what the Serpentine Gallery and its works will provide once again to the visitors of Kensington Garden in the 21st century, since the pavilions inserted in the gallery’s lawn between the trees are very similar to those of these 18th-century gardens, both in dimensions and in the function of just welcoming people. (JAEKEL, 2017, p. 26)

(Opposite page) Pavilion of the Federal Republic of Germany – Expo 67, in Montreal, by Frei Otto and Rolf Gutbrod. Source: Frei Otto. Editing: authorial.

The Universal Expositions and Serpentine Pavilions

In the 19th century, the Universal Exhibitions began to appear, which sought, according to Puente (2000, p. 12), as cited by Jaekel (2017, p. 29), “to stimulate the economic development of the host countries, encouraging the population to create new artifacts to present them to the public”. The pavilions started collectively, that is, a single pavilion housed stands from the other participating countries. This is how the First Universal Exhibition took place, in the symbolic Crystal Palace, created by the architect Joseph Paxton in 1851 and built in Hyde Park, London (the future park dedicated to hosting the Serpentine Pavilions). According to Jaekel (2017, p. 31), the pavilion “remains mountable and demountable, but distances itself from the initial definitions of a small tent and secondary building to gain the protagonism of the main construction”. It is from the 20th century that the protagonism of a single pavilion gives space to “a collection of architectural expressions from around the world, where each pavilion represented its country in miniature”, according to Puente (2000, p. 13), as cited by Jaekel (2017, p. 31)

In addition to representing their respective countries, the pavilions became the means by which great architects such as Le Corbusier (creator of the L’esprit Nouveau Pavilion in 1925 and Philips Pavilion in 1958), Mies van der Rohe (creator of the German Pavilion, in 1929) and Oscar Niemeyer (creator of the Pavilhão do Brasil, in 1939)8, represented their views on Modern Architecture and the future of architecture:

The Modern Movement could at the same time use the pavilion as a place to create the never-before-seen, and to return the pavilion to its origins as a temporary tent, a minimal separation from the outside, and a delicate designation of place. (BERGDOLL, 2009, p.20, as translated and quoted by Jaekel, 2017, p. 34).

Moreover to the Universal and International Exhibitions throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, other displays and smaller expositions have also emerged, involving institutions, architects, and companies with different objectives, be they to exhibit products, promote new materials, create installations with sensory stimuli, and be others. These new pavilions, more correlated with art, such as temporary exhibitions of works in museums and galleries, start to stand out in contemporary times, coexisting with the pavilions of the Universal Exhibitions, however, representing the architect himself and his architectural language and not a whole nation. It is in this context that the Serpentine Gallery’s Summer Pavilions are inserted (JAEKEL, 2017).

Since the year 2000, “[...] an internationally recognized architect has been invited to design and create his first structure built in England: the Serpentine Pavilion”9 . Serpentine Gallery of contemporary art, in Hyde Park - the largest park in central London (SILVA, 2018).

It was in 1992 that the Serpentine Gallery began the first exhibition involving art and architecture, with the glass pavilion by American artist Dan Graham. From this first essay, other interventions of the kind were proposed more frequently, until the

8 The L’Esprit Nouveau Pavilion was made in partnership with Le Corbusier’s cousin and architect, Pierre Jeanneret, for the Exhibition of Modern Industrial Decorative Arts in Paris, and the Philips Pavilion was made together with the engineer and architect Iannis Xenakis for the Universal Exhibition of 1958, in Brussels, Belgium. The German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona was made in partnership with the designer Lilly Reich. The Brazil Pavilion was the result of a partnership with the architect and urban planner Lúcio Costa for the 1939 Universal Exhibition in New York (SILVA, 2018).

9 Official description available at: https://www. serpentinegalleries.org/support/private-hire/ serpentine-pavilion/. Authorial translation.

first invitation for the construction of a temporary pavilion made to the architect Zaha Hadid. She was asked to design a structure to commemorate the institution’s reopening after a renovation of the Serpentine Gallery10, as a shelter for guests and at a reduced cost, compared to a tent. What was supposed to remain set up for a month, stayed longer in the garden, due to the success that the structure obtained in the perception of the visitors, the beginning of the series of pavilions that would follow (JAEKEL, 2017).

Except for the pavilion made by the South African studio Counterspace, which will be the same in 2020 and 2021, due to the global health crisis of the Coronavirus, which started in 2019, all the other pavilions were installed in a single year, between the months of June and October, mostly taking advantage of the London summer, when the incidence of rain is lower, temperatures are the highest of the year and daylight lasts longer.

Currently, the project is expected to include “a waterproof roof, lighting, power and a built-in bar. As a standard, the standing shelter capacity varies between 200300 people, and the seating capacity for dining can be a maximum of 70 seats”. The possibility of being assembled and dismantled is also recurrent, as the pavilions are usually auctioned at the end of their exhibition and reassembled in “private properties of buyers who prefer to remain anonymous”, according to Jaekel (2017, p. 200).

The next chapter will be dedicated to the analysis of the 2017 Pavilion made by Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, correlating chapter 1 - the architect’s life, his connection with collective work, and the use of local materials -, chapter 2 - the origin of the pavilion concept and how the typology is being developed over the last few years - with the formal, material and architectural language solutions adopted in the London context by the architect.

10 Today there are two galleries, the Serpentine Gallery and the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine Gallery was originally a tea pavilion, built in 1934. The building began to house the contemporary art gallery in 1970 and received the Serpentine Pavilions next to it since the year 2000. The Serpentine Sackler Gallery was a powder magazine, called Magazine, built in 1805. Without this function since 1963, the building underwent a restoration in 2013, becoming a contemporary art gallery, in addition to having a tensioned structure created by Zaha Hadid Architects as a space coexistence with a restaurant.

(Opposite page) Composition with images of the pavilions, from the year 2000 to 2020/2021. (Left to right, top to bottom):

- 2020/2021 | Counterspace Photo: Counterspace

- 2019 | Junya Ishigami | Photo: Norbert Tukaj

- 2018 | Frida Escobedo | Photo: Ste Murray

- *2017 | Diébédo Francis Kéré Photo: Iwan Baan (Shown in Chapter 3)

- 2016 | Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Photo: Iwan Baan

- 2015 | SelgasCano | Photo: Iwan Baan

- 2014 | Smiljan Radić | Photo: Iwan Baan

- 2013 | Sou Fujimoto | Photo: Ste Murray

- 2012 | Herzog & de Meuron e Ai Weiwei (artista) Photo: John Offenbach

- 2011 | Peter Zumthor e Piet Oudolf (paisagista) Photo: Hufton&Crow

- 2010 | Jean Nouvel | Photo: Jean Nouvel