Marina Tabassum has been chosen to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion in London. The Bangladeshi architect’s design, called “A Capsule in Time,” marks the 25th anniversary of the annual commission. Tabassum’s lightweight timber structure is inspired by the temporary nature of the pavilions built outside the Serpentine Gallery each summer.
“When conceiving our design, we reflected on the transient nature of the commission, which appears to us as a capsule of memory and time,” said Tabassum. The design also references life in the Bengal Delta, where people often have to move their homes due to shifting rivers. “In the Bengal Delta, architecture is ephemeral as dwellings change locations with the rivers shifting courses,” Tabassum explained.
“A Capsule in Time” will have four arched modules with a timber structure and transparent panels.
marina tabassum’s lightweight timber pavilion
The modules will be separate and frame a courtyard with a central tree that lines up with the gallery’s bell tower.
One section of the pavilion will be movable to transform the space. Tabassum said, “The archaic volume of a half capsule, generated by geometry and wrapped in light semi-transparent material, will create a play of filtered light that will pierce through the structure as if under a Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Zaha Hadid. Tabassum’s pavilion will be part of the anniversary celebrations and embody Hadid’s “ethos of pushing the boundaries of architecture,” according to the gallery.
The judges praised Tabassum as “one of global architecture’s undoubted heavyweights” whose “locally focused work is gaining increasing attention and admiration.” They noted her recent Soane Medal win and inclusion on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024 list. Tabassum’s pavilion will be unveiled on June 6. The renders are by Marina Tabassum Architects.