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“I believe that the purpose of architecture is not simply to create a man–made environment. I wanted to create something that has humans as an element in nature” — Junya Ishigami
After Christo’s incredible The London Mastaba, Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park 2016 – 2018 seemed to garner all the attention in the summer of 2018 in London, one could be forgiven for the Serpentine’s annual pavilion commission to slip out of mind. We didn’t forget it! This year’s Serpentine Pavilion commission was awarded to the acclaimed young Japanese architect Junya Ishigami (b. 1974, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan). Known for work that integrates humans and the natural world in ways that transcend international borders, Ishigami was the winner of the Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010 and was the subject of a critically acclaimed solo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in 2018. He is the nineteenth architect to accept the invitation to design a temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens. The pavilion, on view until October 6, 2019, “bring[s] to mind a blackbird flying in a rainy London sky” says the architect of the undulating slate roof on lightweight supports. In this video from the Serpentine, Ishigami talks about his approach to his architecture practice and the process behind his pavilion commission.
