SERPENTINE PAVILION

Lina Ghotmeh believes architecture can de-escalate conflict and build community. The philosophy underpins her design for this year’s Serpentine Pavilion, named À table, on view in London until October 29. The French phrase is a call to gather around a table and nourish both mind and body, through dial- ogue and feasting. The Beirut-born, Paris- based architect’s lightweight structure features an umbrella-like, nine-sided roof under which a circular table invites the public to meet, work, eat, and talk. The timber and plywood structure’s low height references the toguna huts of Mali’s Dogon people, which implores people to sit, easing tensions during debate. It in turn keeps the pavilion lower than the surrounding trees. Akin to her insistence that people must come together peacefully, she asserts through design that buildings should emerge quietly from their surrounding environment. 

See also

Architecture

A WITNESS TO HISTORY