This year’s Serpentine Pavilion has been designed by Frida Escobedo

Every summer, the Serpentine Gallery ask an architect to design a Pavilion for their grounds. This year, Mexican architect Frida Escobedo is the youngest ever and 18th architect to create a temporary structure. She follows in the footsteps of previous architects, such as Bjarke Ingels, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer, Sou Fujimoto, Smiljan Radić, Selgascano, and, last year’s choice, Francis Kéré.

Escobedo has been inspired by the Prime Meridian line at the capital’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich, as well as her home country. It comprises of an enclosed courtyard with entrances on two sides. The Pavilion’s axis refers to the Prime Meridian, while the internal courtyard is a popular feature in Mexican homes. Escobedo has used British materials to make celosia – a type of breeze wall which is common in Mexico – made of cement roof tiles. Inside the pavilion is a mirrored ceiling and a shallow triangular pool along the north axis of the Meridian. These give a sense of light, while the gap between the walls allow the visitor to see the greenery of the park from within. As always, the Pavilion features a café serving snacks and drinks.

• The Serpentine Pavilion 2018 is open until 7 October 2018. Open 10am-6pm. Free to visit and contains a pop-up café inside. Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA. Nearest stations: Lancaster Gate, Knightsbridge or South Kensington. For more information, visit the Serpentine Gallery website.

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Find out about the floating London Mastaba in neighbouring Hyde Park.

For a guide to what’s on in London in October 2018, click here.

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