Serpentine Pavilion 2025: A Capsule in Time

Designed by Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), the Serpentine Pavilion 2025 marks the 25th year of this pioneering architectural commission at Serpentine South in Kensington Gardens. Opening in June 2025, A Capsule in Time continues Dame Zaha Hadid’s ethos of pushing architectural boundaries, with her mantra “There should be no end to experimentation” forming the foundation of this commission. Celebrated for establishing an architectural language that is contemporary while rooted in place, climate, context, culture and history, Tabassum’s design resonates with Serpentine South and prompts dialogue between the permanent and ephemeral nature of the commission. 

The Pavilion is elongated in the north-south direction and features a central court that aligns with Serpentine South’s bell tower. Inspired by the tradition of park-going and arched garden canopies that filter soft daylight through green foliage, the sculptural design comprises four wooden capsule forms with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light when infiltrating the space. Marking the first structure by Tabassum to be built entirely from wood, the Pavilion employs light as a way to enhance the qualities of the space, emphasising the sensory and spiritual possibilities of architecture through scale, geometry and the interplay of light and shadow. The design features a kinetic element where one of the capsule forms is able to move and connect, transforming the Pavilion into a new spatial configuration. 

Built around a semi-mature Ginkgo tree – a climate-resilient species dating back to the early Jurassic Period – the Pavilion considers the threshold between inside and outside, the tactility of material, lightness and darkness, height and volume. Throughout summer and into autumn, the Ginkgo’s leaves will shift from green to luminous gold-yellow. The species was selected for its tolerance to climate change and contribution to a diverse treescape in Kensington Gardens, and will be replanted into the park following the Pavilion’s closure in October. 

In an era of increasing censorship, Tabassum designed the Pavilion to function as a versatile space where visitors can come together and connect through conversations and sharing of knowledge. Bookshelves built into the structure hold a curated selection celebrating the richness of Bengali culture, literature, poetry, ecology and Bangladesh. This draws on the Pavilion’s envisioned afterlife once no longer sited on Serpentine’s lawn – as a library open to all.