ARCHITECTURE IN BLUE: FRANCIS KÉRÉ'S SERPENTINE PAVILION

Burkina Faso-born and Berlin-based architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has brought his empowering, socially engaged architecture to London in the form of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. Inspired by the form of a tree, where people like to gather during the day in his home village of Gando, it showcases his belief that architecture has the power to surprise, unite and inspire

A sweeping, wooden canopy landed, much like a stray frisbee might, on the lawn of the Serpentine Galleries this summer within the lush greenery of London’s Kensington Gardens. Its complex steel framework is concealed from view, encircled by a deep-indigo-blue curved wall, so that the disc-shaped roof appears to hover amid the treetops. The blue enclosure bends and kinks apart to invite you to find a pathway into this open-armed shelter in the middle of the park.

The blue wall system, made of triangular modules, appears like an African textile or screenThe blue wall system, made of triangular modules, appears like an African textile or screen

Inspired by the form of a tree in the landscape, a central meeting point for people to convene in his home village of Gando in Burkina Faso, Diébédo Francis Kéré’s Serpentine Pavilion seeks to create a place where people can gather and connect with nature. The structure has a lightness and permeability that gives it a sense of openness, both to people and its surroundings.