marina tabassum to design the 2025 serpentine pavilion

marina tabassum’s design for the 2025 serpentine pavilion

Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, founder of Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), was selected to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion, titled A Capsule in Time. Opening on June 6, 2025, at Serpentine South in London’s Kensington Gardens, the pavilion commemorates the 25th anniversary of the series. The commission continues the experimental spirit of Zaha Hadid, whose mantra, ‘There should be no end to experimentation,’ remains foundational to the program.

Inspired by the ephemeral architecture of South Asia and the organic forms of garden canopies, A Capsule in Time features an elongated, north-south structure that aligns with Serpentine South’s historic bell tower. Four wooden capsules with translucent facades create dappled lighting effects, reminiscent of sunlight filtering through foliage. The Pavilion also marks Tabassum’s first construction built entirely from wood, a material choice that emphasizes tactility, impermanence, and lightness. At its heart, a kinetic element allows one capsule to move and transform the space, offering visitors new ways to interact with the space. ‘The relationship between time and architecture is intriguing: between permanence and impermanence, of birth, age and ruin; architecture aspires to outlive time. Architecture is a tool to live behind legacies, fulfilling the inherent human desire for continuity beyond life,’ explains Marina Tabassum. ‘The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to unite as people rich in diversity.’

all images courtesy of Marina Tabassum and Serpentine

A Capsule in Time embraces the human desire for connection

Marina Tabassum is internationally recognized for her climate-conscious, socially engaged practice. Her studio, MTA, has pioneered modular, mobile housing solutions such as Khudi Bari (Small House), designed to support communities vulnerable to climate change along the rivers of Bangladesh. Known for blending contemporary design with regional history and culture, Tabassum describes her Pavilion as a ‘capsule of memory and time,’ evoking the transience of architecture in the Bengal delta while embracing the universal human desire for continuity and connection.

‘A Capsule in Time will honour connections with the Earth and celebrate the spirit of community. Built around a mature tree at the centre of the structure, Tabassum’s design will bring the park inside the Pavilion,’ add Bettina Korek, Chief Executive, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine. ‘This is a milestone year for the Serpentine Pavilion Commission as we celebrate 25 years since the inception of this prestigious program.’ The chosen tree is a semi-mature ginkgo—a resilient species dating back to the Jurassic Period, known for its high tolerance to climate change and resistance to pests and diseases. Over the course of summer into autumn, its fan-like leaves will gradually shift from green to luminous gold. After the Pavilion closes in October, the Ginkgo will be replanted in Kensington Gardens as a lasting contribution to the park’s ecosystem.

A Capsule in Time features an elongated structure that aligns with Serpentine South’s historic bell tower

a potential future afterlife for the structure

In an era of increasing censorship, Tabassum envisions the Pavilion as a space for open dialogue and collective learning. Her team at MTA has curated a selection of books celebrating Bengali literature, culture, poetry, ecology, and identity. These will be housed on bookshelves embedded within the structure, reinforcing its potential afterlife as a mobile library or community archive — a physical capsule of knowledge and exchange.

To accompany the Serpentine Pavilion, Serpentine and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König will co-publish a catalogue in July 2025, designed by Wolfe Hall. Richly illustrated and multidimensional in scope, the publication includes essays by art and architecture historian Perween Hasan, Yale Architecture Dean Deborah Berke, and critic Thomas de Monchaux, contributions from Shumon Basar and artists Rana Begum and Naeem Mohaiemen, and sketches from Tabassum’s own notebooks. It also features a photo essay by Iwan Baan and in-depth conversations with both Hans Ulrich Obrist and David Chipperfield, tracing the Pavilion’s conceptual and material evolution.

four wooden capsules with translucent facades create dappled lighting effects

Marina Tabassum is internationally recognized for her climate-conscious, socially engaged practice

project info:

name: A Capsule in Time
architect: Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) | @marinatabassum
location: Serpentine South, Kensington Gardens, London, UK

event: Serpentine Pavilion | @serpentineuk
opening date: June 6, 2025