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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei photographs

Here are some photographs of the completed 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, which opens to the public in London tomorrow.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

The base of the pavilion is sunken beneath the lawn of Kensington Gardens, where the imagined previously buried foundations of the past eleven annual pavilions have been  unearthed and lined with cork to form a network of trenches.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

Twelve columns are positioned amongst these channels, representing each of the pavilions past and present, and supporting a circular roof.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

A pool of water covers the roof, but can be drained into an excavated well to provide an elevated viewing platform or dance floor.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

Cork-covered stools shaped like mushrooms provide seating for visitors underneath this canopy.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

The temporary pavilion will be open until 14 October.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

See more shots from the press preview in our Facebook album.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

Jacques Herzog gave us a private tour of the building earlier today, which we'll publish on Dezeen soon.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

The twelfth annual pavilion follows previous structures by architects including Peter ZumthorJean NouvelSANAA and Frank Gehry.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

You can see images of them all here, watch our interview with Peter Zumthor at the opening of last year’s pavilion on Dezeen Screen and read even more about the pavilions in our Dezeen Book of Ideas.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

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Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei

Photography is by Jim Stephenson.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 by Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei