Lina Ghotmeh to design a new, circular pavilion in the shape of a serpentine.

Serpentine has announced that Lina Ghotmeh, an architect born in Beirut and based in Paris, will design the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion. The pavilion, titled À Table, will be open in London's Kensington Gardens next June. Ghotmeh describes the design as "an invitation to dwell together, in the same space and around the same table. It is an encouragement to enter into a dialogue, to convene and to think about how we could reinstate and reestablish our relationship to nature and the Earth." The news comes one month after Theaster Gates's 2022 pavilion, which was also circular, ended its four-month run next to Serpentine South Gallery. 

The traditional unveiling of the newest Serpentine Pavilion usually happens in February, making this announcement unexpected.

"[The pavilion] is designed to bring all members of a community together in discussion, with a table around which we will sit together in a modest, low structure," says Ghotmeh. "The atmosphere will be reminiscent of Toguna huts of the Dogon people in Mali, West Africa, and here we can eat, work, play, meet, talk, rethink, and decide."

As in previous years, the pavilion will be the setting for what Serpentine calls its "experimental, interdisciplinary, community and family programs" that include music, poetry, spoken words, dance, educational and other events.

Following Ghotmeh's concept of our relationship to nature, the pavilion was designed to minimize its carbon footprint and environmental impact. The structure is mostly made of lightweight, demountable timber, which makes it easier to relocate and reuse. According to the architect:

The 22nd Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Lina Ghotmeh, will be built using bio-sourced and low-carbon materials. The structure will have a skeletal appearance, with sustainably sourced timber ribs arranged to support a suspended pleated roof. The Pavilion will embrace the nature of the park in which it is located, with its design echoing the structures of tree leaves. The concave lines of its perimeter are drawn from the forms in the stems and canopies of adjacent trees, reminding visitors of the many lives that exist beneath their feet. The pavilion will be open and gallery-like, welcoming visitors and the space of the park. It will also be adaptable, able to be disassembled and reassembled, allowing it to live beyond its Serpentine site while holding the memory of its original location.