Atelier Lanza's 2026 Serpentine Pavilion: Playful Design with Dark Pastoral Roots

Atelier Lanza, the architecture duo behind the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, have designed a space that encourages free expression and play. However, the pavilion's aesthetic draws on English pastoral history, which carries connotations of enclosure, land ownership, and exclusion. The design features open, flexible areas meant for public interaction, but critics point out that the idealized countryside imagery glosses over the violent history of land dispossession and class divisions. The pavilion is set to open in June 2026 in London's Kensington Gardens. Atelier Lanza's previous work includes community-focused projects in Italy and the UK. The Serpentine Pavilion commission is an annual architectural event.