Resumen de Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2017
Michael Orr, Jon Leach, Amy Koerbel
Architect Francis Kéré’s intent for the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion (Figure 1) was to create a sense of community. As engineers and advisers, AECOM’s role was to provide the technical solutions within a collaborative team environment that transformed his architectural vision into a reality. The project team was completed by David Glover, Technical Advisor to the Gallery, Julie Burnell, Project Manager for the Serpentine Galleries, and creative contractor Stage One, which has fabricated and constructed the pavilion every year since 2009.
Our engineering interpretation throughout the design and construction process relied on a combination of cutting-edge computational design and fabrication techniques, the application of engineering fi rst principles, and knowledge of a wide range of materials and manufacturing techniques. The design team helped to shape Kéré’s initial architectural concept, which used traditional, low-tech materials that combined the warmth of his home-town community with the rich architectural tapestry of London, into a modern interpretation, all within the rapid, six-month design, fabrication and construction period.
The architect’s brief and construction budget for the pavilion have not changed signifi cantly since the programme’s launch in 2000 and remain a closely guarded secret, but they are intended to allow the architect maximum freedom over the design while still providing a fl exible venue that can be used day and night, throughout the changeable conditions of the London summer.
A review of previous iterations of the pavilion featured in The Structural Engineer – selgascano (2015)1, Sou Fujimoto (2013)2, SAANA (2009)3 and Alvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura (2005)4 – demonstrates how a simple brief can be interpreted and delivered in many diff erent ways. The time constraints of the project add a further dimension of spontaneity to the process.
