Construction of the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion has started. For the seventh year running, AECOM, in collaboration with David Glover, is delivering multidisciplinary engineering and specialist technical services for the project. This year, Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has been selected to design the temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery’s lawn in Kensington Gardens, London.

AECOM is providing the full range of engineering and technical advisory services required to deliver the Pavilion, working closely and collaboratively with the architect, Serpentine Galleries and the project’s contractor Stage One.

Ishigami is the nineteenth architect to design a Pavilion for the Serpentine Galleries, which began in 2000 with Zaha Hadid and has presented the first UK structures by some of the most influential names in international architecture. His design takes inspiration from roofs, the most common architectural feature used around the world. The roof structure will be made by arranging slate tiles on a steel mesh to create a single canopy that appears to emerge from the ground of the surrounding Park. Supporting columns within the space are arranged to resemble a forest and engage with the roof to create an enclosed cave-like space. With this, Ishigami’s Pavilion articulates his ‘free space’ philosophy in which he seeks harmony between man-made structures and those that already exist in nature.

Michael Orr, Principal Engineer, AECOM, said: “The challenge of designing and constructing the Serpentine Pavilion within tight programme constraints means it is always an exciting project to deliver. Ishigami’s ambitious structure blends traditional craftsmanship with modern design, presenting an interesting engineering challenge for our team. As with previous years, we’re using digital engineering tools alongside physical prototypes to test, refine and prove concepts and streamline the design and construction process.”

Construction started this week and the Pavilion opens to the public in June. Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors, the Pavilion will be used as a community hub and café by day and a forum for learning, debate and entertainment at night.

Each year, the Serpentine Galleries commissions an international architect to design a temporary pavilion for the gallery grounds. AECOM has engineered the Serpentine Pavilion every year since 2013, from Sou Fujimoto’s cloud-like structure to last year’s reflective courtyard by architect Frida Escobedo.