Junya Ishigami to Design 2019 Serpentine Pavilion in London

Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, born in 1974, has been selected to design the 19th Serpentine Pavilion in London's Kensington Gardens, opening daily from June 20 to October 6, 2019. Ishigami succeeds Mexican architect Frida Escobedo and continues the tradition of Japanese architects at the pavilion, following Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto, and SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa). The pavilion, described as "a refuge for contemplation," features a single floating roof of slate slabs supported by a forest of slender pillars, creating an open hybrid space. Ishigami's philosophy of "free space" emphasizes the contrast between the physical weight of slate and its visual lightness, as if a piece of fabric floating in the breeze. The design plays with perspectives of the built environment against a natural landscape, resembling a rock fragment transported from a slate quarry. The pavilion will host the Park Nights program with experimental interdisciplinary events. Additionally, the first Serpentine Augmented Architecture competition, launched with Google Arts and Culture, will be held alongside. The Architecture Family Pack and Program is sponsored by COS, and Goldman Sachs supports the pavilion for the fifth year. Ishigami, winner of the Golden Lion at the 12th Venice Biennale and the BSI Architectural Award in 2011, had a major retrospective at Fondation Cartier in Paris, later shown at Power Station of Art in Shanghai.