Marina Tabassum Launch Serpentine Pavilion 2025 Design “A Capsule in Time” 

Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, founder of Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), unveiled the Serpentine Pavilion design, “A Capsule in Time.” The pavilion will open on June 6, 2025, marking 25 years since the Serpentine first built Zaha Hadid's inaugural structure in Hyde Park in 2000. 

The Pavilion is a must-see for Londoners every year in the spring and summer. The A Capsule in Time pavilion will have the attraction that one of the capsule shapes is movable and connected to the others so that it can change from one event to another. 

A Capsule in Time is named for its light wooden structure, inspired by the temporary pavilion erected outside the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens every summer. The design was also inspired by the ephemeral nature of architecture in the Bengal Delta, which incorporates semi-transparent structures to evoke a sense of community and connectedness. 

“When designing our design, we considered the ephemeral nature of the commission, which seemed to us like a capsule of memory and time,” says Tabassum. “In the Bengal Delta, architecture is transient as dwellings change location with the river's flow. Architecture becomes a memory of an inhabited space that continues through stories,” she adds.

“The relationship between time and architecture is interesting: between eternity and impermanence, birth, age, and destruction; architecture aspires to outlast time. Architecture is a tool for living beyond heritage, fulfilling the inherent human desire for continuity beyond life,” explains Marina Tabassum. “The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to come together as a people rich in diversity.”

A Capsule in Time will feature an elongated structure from main to south that aligns with the Serpentine South bell tower. Visitors will be treated to four curved wooden capsules with transparent panels that create a play of light and shadow. The four modules are separated by a central tree aligned with the gallery's bell tower.

The main aim of the pavilion is to be a public and artistic meeting place for Serpentine's experimental, interdisciplinary, community engagement and educational programs. To this end, the open design also stimulates visitors to increase their sense of community and interconnectedness to create connections between people. 

“The ancient half-capsule volume, generated by geometry and encased in a lightweight semi-transparent material, will create a play of filtered light that will penetrate the structure as if performing Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding,” says Tabassum. 

“The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the hot summer sun to unite as a people rich in diversity. The stage has been set, and the chairs have been placed. We envision various events and gatherings taking place in this versatile space that brings people together through conversation and connection.”

Marina Tabassum's Serpentine Pavilion is renowned for its community, political, and ecological engagement projects. One of her important projects includes Khudi Bari, a housing estate designed for people in flood-prone areas. She focuses on addressing the special conditions of marginalized communities to improve their environment and living conditions by working with the community.