The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, recently awarded by the 11th International Architecture Exhibition with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, is open to the public until October 19th.

The spectacular structure – designed and engineered in collaboration with Arup – is anchored by four massive steel columns and is comprised of large timber planks and a multiple glazed roof surfaces useful to protect the interior from wind and rain and provide for shade during sunny days. Gehry and his team took inspiration for this Pavilion from a fascinating variety of sources including the elaborate wooden catapults designed by Leonardo da Vinci as well as the striped walls of summer beach huts.

The structure acts as an urban street running from the park to the existing Gallery. As the visitor walks through the Pavilion they have access to terraced seating on both sides of the urban street. Part-amphitheatre, part- promenade, these seemingly random elements make a transformative place for reflection and relaxation by day, and discussion and performance by night.

The interior space is designed as a covered Pavilion for visitors to take respite, with access to a café. There is also a venue for the Gallery’s Park Nights series of Friday and Saturday night events: Perception / Memory / Material, a series of experimental films curated by Peter Gidal Aleatory Colour, will be projected at 8 pm the 10 October and Manifesto Marathon, 24-hour, non- stop interview event featuring some of the greatest names in international contemporary culture, will take place on 18 and 19 October from 12 noon to 10 pm.