An annual highlight of the avant-garde architecture scene, each summer since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery in London commissions "a temporary pavilion from an architect who has not built in England before." Michael Webb looks at this year's version.
Coinciding with London's hosting of the Olympic Games, Serpentine curators selected Herzog & De Meuron and Ai Weiwei, designers of the centerpiece stadium for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, to design this years iteration.
Envisioned as a "half sunken shelter, half archeological dig," the saucer-shaped pavilion incorporates traces from the prior eleven pavilions that occupied the site at the same time that it takes "a different approach from the signature statements favored by earlier architects."
"The current project is less dramatic than many of its predecessors," writes Webb, "but
it offers a deeply satisfying, haptic experience, recalling childhood
games beneath the dining table. Its apparent simplicity conceals the
complexity of the preparatory plans, in which the footprints of earlier
pavilions and their foundations were overlaid."
FULL STORY: Dig It!
London Launches Electric Buses
The new buses can charge at either end of their route in minutes without returning to garages for charging.
London, Ontario Uses AI to Find Short-Term Rental Violations
The city has issued 171 fines related to short-term rental regulations since it began enforcing new rules in 2022.
London Low-Emissions Zone Prompts Shift to Active Modes
More children are using active transportation modes to get to school in the wake of a policy that charges drivers to enter a low-emissions zone in central London.
Central Florida’s SunRail Plans Major Expansion
The expanded train line will connect more destinations to the international airport and other important destinations.
Las Vegas Golf Course to Become Over 1,000 Units of Affordable Housing
The project is part of an initiative to build affordable housing on shuttered golf courses.
Planning for True Transportation Affordability: Beyond Common Misconceptions
Transportation affordability is important but often misunderstood, resulting in misguided solutions. New research helps identify ways to provide true affordability for economic freedom, opportunity and happiness.
California Governor Vows to Protect EV Credits
If the federal government eliminates the tax credit for electric vehicles, the governor will need legislative support to restart a state-level incentive program.
Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
A new state law requires all Washington cities to allow co-living facilities in areas zoned for multifamily housing.
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Los Alamos County
City of Culver City
Skagit Transit
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners