For the first time ever, a Serpentine Gallery in North America!

The 2016 Serpentine Gallery by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) found another use at Toronto’s King Street. Westbank, the Canadian development firm, decided to introduce the pavilion to the urban realm in Canada, and give it a new life.

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Image Courtesy of Westbank

Known for its radical designs (Like the Transitlager, the Aarhus Harbour Bath,) this temporary structure will be open to the public on Saturday, September 15th, 2018. This is the first time a Serpentine Gallery has come to North America. The 27-meter long pavilion is constructed with 1800 lightweight fiberglass components. This temporary structure has been re-installed in Westbank’s King Street. It stands 14 meters tall at the apex and 12 meters wide and is reminiscent of Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67.

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Image Courtesy of Westbank

The modular and quite rigid individual elements are molded to make a dynamic and organic pavilion. It is organized as a traditional perimeter block with a courtyard inside.

On September 15th the Serpentine Gallery opens to showcase BIG‘s 10 projects, focusing on their collaboration with Westbank and its founder Ian Gillespie. It shows the intricate details and the decisions the architect and developer have taken to respect the site, environment, and city in which it will stand. Among the projects to be showcased are two ambitious mixed-use towers (both under construction) and a previously unannounced infrastructure project: a biomass-fuelled power plant, for Vancouver, that will be topped with a large commercial greenhouse.

Image Courtesy of Westbank

The visitors will be welcomed, at the Pavilion, with the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk — or total design. This is the philosophy employed by Westbank in all of its projects as well as by BIG in its designs. As visitors explore the pavilion, they will encounter the philosophy of total design in all the projects that are displayed.BIG has followed the logic they used in the original Serpentine design but added an extra layer of surprise to increase the experience of the visitors.

BIG has used the modular fiberglass frames as shelves for the displayed projects, and located the larger-scale models along the spine of the Pavilion. By doing this, the visitors are given the freedom to walk through to the edge of the Serpentine Gallery and understand the design.

The Displays of The Serpentine Gallery:

Image Courtesy of Westbank

The project displays are organized according to the design principles of the project and blend with the geometry of the Pavilion. This enables the visitors to experience the content of the exhibition as well as the pavilion in a wholesome and symbiotic way. During the day, the Serpentine pavilion will host the Unzipped exhibition, free of charge and open to the public. In the evening, the space will host cultural events and lectures and be a vibrant area for the community.

Experience the structure at no cost at 533 King Street West between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from September 15, 2018, to November 30, 2018.