Serpentine Pavilion 2025 by Marina Tabassum
Serpentine
5: South Kensington
London W2 3XA, UK
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A Capsule in Time by Marina Tabassum and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)
Celebrated for her work in establishing an architectural language that is both contemporary and deeply connected to a specific place, climate, context, culture, and history, Marina Tabassum brings her distinctive vision to the Serpentine Pavilion 2025. Her design evokes a meaningful dialogue between the permanent and ephemeral nature of the commission.
Along the north-south axis of the park, A Capsule in Time features an elongated capsule-like form with a central court that aligns with Serpentine South’s bell tower. Inspired by summer park-going and arched garden canopies that filter soft daylight through green foliage, the structure is comprised of four wooden sculptural forms with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light when it enters the space. Integral to Tabassum’s design is a kinetic element where one of the capsule forms is able to move, connect and transform the Pavilion into a new space.
Emphasising the sensory and spiritual possibilities of architecture through scale and the interplay of light and shadow, Tabassum’s design draws on the history and architectural tradition of Shamiyana tents or awnings of South Asia. Similarly kinetic in their function, these structures are made of fabric supported by bamboo poles and are commonly erected for outdoor gatherings and celebrations. The openness of Tabassum’s Pavilion welcomes the possibilities of unifying visitors through conversations, connections, live programmes and public convenings.
When:
6 June - 26 October 2025
Open Daily (park hours)
Friday 13 June | Pavilion closed at 2pm.
Saturday 19 July | Pavilion opens at 11am.
Admission
rchitect Biography
About Marina Tabassum
Marina Tabassum (b. 1969, Dhaka, Bangladesh) is an acclaimed architect and educator who has received numerous international recognitions for her contributions in the field of architecture. She graduated in 1995 from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Prior to founding Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) in 2005, Tabassum was a founding partner of the Dhaka-based firm URBANA between 1995 and 2005 with Kashef Chowdhury. In 1997, URBANA won the national competition to design the Independence Monument of Bangladesh and the Museum of Independence under the Public Works Department and the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. Tabassum’s practice remains consciously contained in size — prioritising climate, context, culture and history — undertaking a limited number of projects per year.
Tabassum is a Professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She held the Norman Foster Chair at Yale University in 2023 and has taught as a visiting professor at numerous universities, including the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, USA; the University of Toronto, Canada; and BRAC University, Bangladesh. She received an Honorary Doctorate from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and served as academic director at the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements between 2015 and 2021.
Tabassum’s pursuit for the ‘architecture of relevance’ has won her numerous awards including the Soane Medal from the United Kingdom; Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture; and the Jameel Prize from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016 for the Bait ur Rouf Mosque and has served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga KhanAwards for Architecture from 2017 to 2022 and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). In 2024, Tabassum was included in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’.
Free