LONDON – 21st February 2020 – AECOM, the world’s premier infrastructure firm, has been appointed for the eighth year running to deliver multidisciplinary engineering and specialist technical services for the Serpentine Pavilion in London, UK.
Counterspace, a Johannesburg-based architectural studio led by an all-woman collaborative, has been selected by the Gallery to design the temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens.
AECOM’s talented technical team will work closely and collaboratively with the architect, Serpentine Galleries, technical advisor David Glover and the project’s contractor Stage One to transform the architect’s concept into a high-quality public space, typically visited by hundreds of thousands of people each summer.
Counterspace’s design will be based on gathering spaces, including community areas around the city, and merging this into the Pavilion whilst ensuring London remains at its heart. Using a combination of innovative and traditional building techniques, Counterspace will also use of mixture of low-tech and high-tech methods to ensure sustainability is a key factor throughout the project. The Pavilion is set to be constructed from a variety of environmentally friendly materials including custom-made ‘brick’ modules, which are made from 90% recycled construction and demolition waste. These are manufactured without firing and contribute just a tenth of the carbon emissions of normal bricks. Another key material that will be used is cork.
Madalina Taylor, Senior Engineer, AECOM, said: “This year’s design celebrates gathering spaces, which resonates with AECOM’s vision to create opportunities and legacies for communities. With complex designs and time constraints, this challenging yet rewarding project once again brings together a tight knit collaborative team of designers and constructors. Alongside gathering spaces and community areas, Counterspace’s ambitious design will also ensure sustainability is at the core of all decision making. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase cutting edge research to an industry looking to reduce its environmental impact.”
Every year, since 2000, the Serpentine Pavilion commission has featured both emerging and established international architects who have not yet completed a building in the UK at the time of invitation. Zaha Hadid was the first architect selected to present her design in the year 2000. Now in its 20th year, The Serpentine Pavilion by Counterspace will be open to the public in June and aims to attract communities near and far to explore the newest architectural design.
ENDS
