Serpentine Pavilion 2026

We first create a test build of the proposed design, and invite the architect, our project partner Aecom and our client, Serpentine to Stage One to review samples and prototypes. This is a vital step in the process to ensure all parties are aligned on design and materiality before we proceed with the full-scale manufacture of the pavilion.

There is a design freeze in March, and the groundworks commence just days later. On completion of the earthworks and foundations, we have just six weeks to build the Pavilion and hand it over in time for press launch in early June.

The demands of the programme combined with the experimental nature of the design require a high degree of collaboration between architect, engineers and our client. It is a project like no other and is eagerly anticipated and internationally renowned.

a serpentine was the first pavilion to be made of brick. We used more than 26,000 Sienna Red bricks to fabricate the walls. These were standard issue clay housebuilding bricks that were laid in an unconventional manner and notably, without using mortar. Instead, the core holes in each brick were exploited as a channel so that they could be slotted over a series of stainless-steel tubes welded together in frame assemblies.

This resulted in columns of bricks that combined to create walls of three and a half metres high. Additionally, 18 slender brick columns were introduced to support the roof. Just one brick wide, these columns created structural stability and tied the overall structure together.

Because of the absence of a mortar bed in this scheme, we had to come up with a methodology for accommodating the variation in brick heights. Specifically, the manufacturing process created a fine lip on the top edge of each brick. Ordinarily a mortar bed would accommodate this variation. Without mortar we were required to grind this edge off, otherwise the compounding effect of the lip across a full height stack of bricks would have introduced curvature and misalignment to the walls. The brick grinding process was laborious but very effective.

The north wall introduced regular piers, or buttresses to increase stiffness. These piers were created by introducing a brick column that was oriented through 90°. This pier detail was spaced at three column intervals and can be seen from the north aspect of the pavilion.

The roof was made of steel tube, clad with polycarbonate panels to present a screen to the inclement British summer weather and shelter visitors from rain. This roof structure also provided the housing for fabric sails to keep the Pavilion cool in the sunshine, and LED strip lighting for illumination at night.

The architectural design intent was to create a roof structure that appeared to float over the walls. There was an ambition for the roof and walls to be only lightly connected, expressing their independence. This requirement to minimise the number and size of these wall/roof connections became a significant engineering challenge. The stiffness of the whole structure was defined by the walls and roof behaving as a single system.

The floor was made of clay pavers. Like the bricks, these are a standard issue material and were readily available. These pavers were laid in a pattern that mirrored the amplitude of the crinkle crankle wall to the south. The offsetting of these pavers from a standard rectilinear pattern was an unexpected delight and provided visitors with a visual treat on entering the pavilion.

This was a technically challenging pavilion from an engineering perspective but was cleanly and efficiently executed. The result was a pavilion that looked just like the renders and a very happy pair of architects.