Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2006 by Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond with Arup

Architect Rem Koolhaas and innovative structural designer Cecil Balmond co-designed the 2006 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.

The centrepiece of Koolhaas and Balmond’s design for the 2006 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion was a spectacular ovoid-shaped inflatable canopy that floated above the Gallery’s lawn. Made from translucent material, the structure was illuminated from within at night. The canopy was raised into the air or lowered to cover the amphitheatre below according to the weather. The walled enclosure below the canopy functioned as a café and forum for daily televised and recorded public programmes, including live talks and film screenings in the Time Out Park Nights and the Serpentine Gallery programme. Highlights included two 24-hour interview marathons (convened by Koolhaas and Hans-Ulrich Obrist) with leading politicians, architects, philosophers, writers, artists, film-makers and economists exposing the hidden and invisible layers of London.