Smiljan Radic to design the 2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Chilean architect Smiljan Radic has secured the coveted commission to design this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park. The Pavilion, a landmark project in London's annual cultural calendar, will be the fourteenth structure designed for the gallery and has been, as per the Serpentine's tradition, offered to an architect who hasn't had the chance to build yet in the UK.
The temporary Pavilion will open this June in Kensington Gardens and will follow last year's cloud-like design by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto; it will join the long list of celebrated architects who have worked on a pavilion before, including Rem Koolhaas, SANAA, Oscar Niemeyer and Herzog and de Meuron. Radic, whose work has been so far mostly concentrated within Chile, draws on his earlier designs to create a semi-translucent, cylindrical structure, designed to resemble a shell. The pavilion will span 350 sq m and its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones.
The multi-purpose social space will also host Serpentine's Park Nights series, eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory.
The pavilion will span 350 sq m and will play host to the Serpentine Gallery's Park Nights series, eight site-specific events on art, poetry, music, film, literature and theory
Its curved roof will rest on large quarry stones
Past works by Radic include: House for the Poem of the Right Angle, Vilches, Chile, 2010-2012.
Interior of House for the Poem of the Right Angle.
The Selfish Giant's Castle, Santiago, Chile, 2010.
Chilean House 1, Rancagua, Chile, 2005-2006.
House A, Vilches, Chile, 2008.
Mestizo Restaurant, Santiago, Chile, 2005-2007.
Interior of Mestizo Restaurant.
Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán, Metropolitan region, Chile, 1998-1999.
Extension to Charcoal Burner's House and Public Space in Culiprán.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The Lighthouse draws on Bauhaus principles to create a new-era workspace campus
The Lighthouse, a Los Angeles office space by Warkentin Associates, brings together Bauhaus, brutalism and contemporary workspace design trends
By Ellie Stathaki
-
Extreme Cashmere reimagines retail with its new Amsterdam store: ‘You want to take your shoes off and stay’
Wallpaper* takes a tour of Extreme Cashmere’s new Amsterdam store, a space which reflects the label’s famed hospitality and unconventional approach to knitwear
By Jack Moss
-
Titanium watches are strong, light and enduring: here are some of the best
Brands including Bremont, Christopher Ward and Grand Seiko are exploring the possibilities of titanium watches
By Chris Hall
-
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be shown at Tate Modern
The 42-panel quilt, which commemorates those affected by HIV and AIDS, will be displayed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in June 2025
By Anna Solomon
-
Meet the Turner Prize 2025 shortlisted artists
Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa are in the running for the Turner Prize 2025 – here they are with their work
By Hannah Silver
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuit
Ella Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
By Hannah Silver
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyers
An exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
By Aastha D
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experience
In ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
By Hannah Silver
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate Britain
In his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
By Emily Steer
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desire
In a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
By Sam Moore
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next year
Tate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
By Anna Solomon