Opening today in Kensington Gardens in London, the Serpentine Pavilion 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the Serpentine’s annual architectural commission. This year’s Pavilion is designed by renowned Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, founder of Marina Tabassum Architects, whose work often explores themes of impermanence, climate, and cultural continuity.
Titled A Capsule in Time, the Serpentine Pavilion 2025 consists of four elongated wooden structures with translucent façades. These forms gently filter light into a meditative interior space, inviting visitors to pause and reflect. The structure is aligned along a north-south axis, echoing the Serpentine South Gallery’s bell tower, and grounding the project in the geometry of Kensington Gardens in London.
Drawing from the Shamiyana tents of South Asia and the adaptive housing of the Bengal Delta, Marina Tabassum introduces a kinetic element into the design: one of the wooden capsules can be moved, subtly transforming the layout. With this gesture, Marina Tabassum Architects proposes a space that evolves with its community—hosting conversation, gathering, and rest.
At the heart of the Pavilion stands a Ginkgo tree, its foliage changing color through the seasons. Bookshelves inside hold volumes on Bengali literature, poetry, and ecology—suggesting a future in which the Pavilion becomes a mobile library. As Marina Tabassum explains, A Capsule in Time is both a shelter and a statement, addressing themes of displacement, resilience, and collective memory.
Supported by Goldman Sachs for the 11th year, the Serpentine Pavilion 2025 continues the institution’s commitment to experimental architecture. On view through October 26th, the Pavilion in Kensington Gardens in London is a rare chance to experience the quiet power of Marina Tabassum Architects—and to reflect on how architecture can offer not only structure, but meaning.
Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by MARINA TABASSUM, MARINA TABASSUM ARCHITECTS (MTA)
Courtesy of MARINA TABASSUM ARCHITECTS (MTA). Photography by IWAN BAAN, photo courtesy of SERPENTINE