The author of the Serpentine Gallery summer pavilion 2010 will be Jean Nouvel

The London Serpentine Gallery today announced that the author of the jubilee tenth summer pavilion will be French architect Jean Nouvel, for whom this small red structure set in Kensington Gardens will be his first realization in Great Britain. Some media (The Times) look forward to a provocative work that is sure to leave conservative English people cold, while others (Building Design) are disappointed by the dull choice of the author.
This year's pavilion is being created to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Serpentine Gallery, which boasts twice the attendance of the Venice Architecture Biennale. After the exhibition ends, the pavilion (like its predecessors) will be dismantled and auctioned off, thus returning all costs of construction.
Nouvel's design is based on the contrast of light materials and heavy cantilevered parts. The most striking element of the pavilion is a slanted twelve-meter wall that narrows as it rises. The internal and external spaces of the pavilion are defined by retractable awnings made of glass, plastic, and fabric.
The brightly red pavilion is a complementary color and creates a strong contrast to the lawn in Hyde Park and also serves as a reminiscence of London’s double-decker buses or telephone booths.
The pavilion will serve as a summer gallery, where an installation by French artist Christian Boltanski will be placed this year, along with freely distributed table tennis boards.
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