Frida Escobedo. an architect celebrated for dynamic projects that reactivate urban space. has designed the Serpentine Pavilion 2018. Harnessing a subtle interplay Of light, water and geometry, her atmospheric courtyard design draws on both the domestic architecture of Mexico and British materials and history, specifically the Prime Meridian line at London's Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

Escobedo (b. 1979, Mexico City) is the 18th and youngest architect yet to accept the invitation to design a temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery lawn in Kensington Gardens. This pioneering commission, which began in 2000 with Zaha Hadid. has presented the first UK structures of some of the biggest names in international architecture. In recent years, it has grown into a hotly anticipated showcase for emerging talent, from Sou Fujimoto of Japan to selgascano of Spain and Bjarke Ingels Of Denmark. whose 2016 Pavilion was the most visited architectural and design exhibition in the world. Serpentine Galleries Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist and CEO Yana Peel selected this year's architect. with advisors David Adjaye and Richard Rogers. The Serpentine Pavilion 2018 is sponsored by Goldman Sachs in its fourth year of support.

Escobedo's Pavilion takes the form Of an enclosed courtyard, comprised of two rectangular volumes positioned at an angle. While the outer walls are aligned with the Serpentine Gallerys eastern faqade, the axis of the internal courtyard aligns directly to the north. Internal courtyards are a common feature of Mexican domestic architecture, while the Pavilion's pivoted axis refers to the prime Meridian, which was established in 1851 at Greenwich and later became the global standard marker of time and geographical distance.

The Serpentine pavilion will once again be a platform for park Nights, the Serpentine's annual series of experimental, interdisciplinary commissions on selected Friday evenings. Supported by COS for a sixth year, Park Nights will present eight international artists each responding to Escobedo's design and offering unique ways of experiencing architecture and live performance.

The Architecture Family pack and Programme, also supported by COS, will give children and their families the chance to explore the Pavilion from playful and original perspectives. The Family Pack is designed by OOMK, a London- based art publishing collective. School groups are invited to join The Summer Studio, a senes of movement based workshops with artist and dancer Zinzi Minott exploring connections between her artistic practice and the Pavilion.

Building on its 2017 success, Radical Kitchen returns on selected Thursday lunchtimes, supported by Aesop and in collaboration with Nicoletta Fiorucci. Artist, activists and researchers will gather with the public to consider different foodstuffs and elements, and their relationship to time, empire and landscape, themes inspired by the ideas behind Frida Escobedo's design.

“My design for the Serpentine Pavilion 2018 is a meeting of material and historical inspirations inseparable from the city of London itself and an idea which has been central to our practice from the beginning: the expression of time in architecture through inventive use of everyday materials and simple forms. For the Serpentine Pavilion, we have added the materials of light and shadow, reflection and refraction, turning the building into a timepiece that charts the passage of the day.”

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The lattice walls of the Pavilion are inspired by a celosia, a traditional breeze wall commonly used in Mexican domestic architecture to bring air and light into the home. Here they are composed of cement roof tiles commonly used in the United Kingdom. arranged into a pattern that diffuses the visitor's view, transforming Kensington Gardens into a blur of greens and blues. The selection of materials, which have a dark colour and textured surface have been chosen for their contrast with these environs.

Two reflective elements inside the Pavilion emphasise the movement of light and shadow within the Pavilion over the course of the day. The curved underside of the canopy over the central space is clad with mirrored panels throwing reflected light across the space. To compliment the canopy, a triangular mirror pool cast into the foundation of the Pavilion traces its boundary directly beneath the edge of the roof, along the north axis. This thin veneer of water, only 5mm deep, provides a shifting reflection of the sky and surrounding treeline and roof of the Serpentine Gallery.

The movement of the sun across the sky, effected and refracted by the pool and mirrored ceiling encourages an awareness of time spent in shared experience and in contemplation. The design aligns material and historical inspirations from Mexico and the UK with a concept that has been central to our practice from the beginning — the expression Of time in architecture through inventive use of everyday materials and simple forms. For the Serpentine Pavilion, we add the materials of light and shadow, reflection and refraction, turning the building into a timepiece that charts the passage of the day.

British-made materials will be used in the Pavilion’s construction, chosen for their dark colours and textured surfaces. A celosia – a traditional breeze wall common to Mexican architecture – will here be composed of a lattice of cement roof tiles that diffuse the view out into the park, transforming it into a vibrant blur of greens and blues. Two reflecting elements will emphasise the movement of light and shadow inside the Pavilion over the course of the day. The curved underside of the canopy will be clad with mirrored panels, and a triangular pool cast into the Pavilion floor will trace its boundary directly beneath the edge of the roof, along the north axis of the Meridian. As the sun moves across the sky, reflected and refracted by these features, visitors may feel a heightened awareness of time spent in play, improvisation and contemplation over the summer months.

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Overall site area

• sq.m. 541

Gross internal area

Footprint

• sq.m. 257

The footprint of the Pavilion is rectangular on plan, parallel and perpendicular to the east façade of the Serpentine Gallery. A trapezoidal-shaped roof predominantly encloses the eastern half of the pavilion, leaving areas to the north and west open to the elements.

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