Marina Tabassum has been selected to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion in London. Her design, titled “A Capsule in Time,” draws inspiration from the temporary nature of the pavilions built outside the Serpentine Gallery each summer. The pavilion will feature four arched modules with a timber structure filled with transparent panels.
The modules will be separate from each other and will frame a courtyard with a central tree that aligns with the gallery’s bell tower. One of the pavilion’s sections will be movable to transform the space. Tabassum’s design reflects on themes of temporality, permanence, and legacy in architecture.
She said, “When conceiving our design, we reflected on the transient nature of the commission, which appears to us as a capsule of memory and time. The relationship between time and architecture is intriguing: between permanence and impermanence, of birth, age, and ruin; architecture aspires to outlive time.”
The design also nods to life in the Bengal Delta, where water flowing from the Himalayan mountains frequently requires people to relocate their homes. “In the Bengal Delta, architecture is ephemeral as dwellings change locations with the rivers shifting courses,” Tabassum explained.
“Architecture becomes memories of the lived spaces continued through tales.”
Tabassum’s work is deeply rooted in local contexts.
Designing a space for community
She gained increasing attention and admiration since winning the Aga Khan Award for Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka.
She also recently won the Soane Medal and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024. The 2025 Serpentine Pavilion will be unveiled on June 6th and remain on site until October 26th. It will serve as the base for the Serpentine Gallery’s experimental, interdisciplinary program, including talks, educational events, and community activities.
The project is supported by Goldman Sachs and made possible through collaboration with engineers Aecom and producers Stage One. Tabassum hopes the pavilion will be a space where diversity can be celebrated and discussions can happen. She said, “This is a space where people come together.
In the first quarter of our century, we have seen many wars. This is a space where diversity can be celebrated, and discussions can happen. It’s a platform to reconcile differences and recognize our common humanity.”
