Dezeen video reveals Theaster Gates’ 2022 Serpentine Pavilion

Theaster Gates‘ design for the 2022 Serpentine Pavilion was unveiled today in London’s Kensington Gardens as revealed in this exclusive video by Dezeen.

Together with Adjaye Associates, the Chicago-based artist created a cylindrical, chapel-like structure for this year’s commission as a peaceful space “where one could rest from the pressures of the day and spend time in solitude”.

Called Black Chapel, the 10-meter-tall pavilion is made mostly of blackened timber and features a conical roof structure with an oculus in its centre.

The form references the bottle kilns of Stoke-on-Trent, Bramante’s 16th-century Tempietto in Rome and African structures such as the Musgum mud huts of Cameroon.

Installed for the duration of the summer, the pavilion will host a programme of cultural events, talks and performances before being dismantled and moved to a permanent location.

Black Chapel is the 21st pavilion to be built as part of the annual architecture commission. Previous iterations have been designed by Sumayya Vally of Counterspace, Junya Ishigami and Frida Escobedo.

Read more about Gates’ design here.

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