To celebrate our partnership with the Serpentine Galleries, The Modern House team have selected some of their favourite Pavilions from the past sixteen years.

Matt Gibberd, Founding Director
Peter Zumthor, 2011
“For me, the most exciting thing about London is what happens behind the building line – the unexpected spaces that you don’t see. Peter Zumthor’s pavilion played on this sense of discovery. It was a deliberately blank, shadowy presence from the outside. The visitor was funnelled through a narrow corridor that circulated the perimeter of the building, before emerging into a lushly planted central courtyard; it was a contemplative place abstracted from the noise and traffic of the city, where you could take a moment to sit and read a book or smell the flowers.”

Christian Eldershaw, Head of Sales
Peter Zumthor, 2011
“I’d also have to choose Peter Zumthor’s pavilion. I went on a beautiful day with my wife and some friends, and the incredible atmosphere of the pavilion had a profound impact on us all. Going through the entrance into the dark interior, then exiting into this lovely, calming internal courtyard – it was so unexpected.”

Albert Hill, Founding Director
Jean Nouvel, 2010
“Being a sucker for big, primary-coloured structures in beautiful landscapes, I would say my favourite would have to be Jean Nouvel’s pavilion from 2010 – the vivid red of the structure created such a striking contrast against the green lawns of Kensington Gardens.”

Andrew Stevenson, Sales Advisor
Zaha Hadid, 2000
“For me it’s got to be Zaha Hadid’s pavilion from 2000. I think it’s extra special because it was the very first one the gallery commissioned, and it really set the tone for the next 16 years.”

Rachel McCarthy-Yardley, Administrator
Daniel Libeskind, 2001
“My favourite would definitely have to be Libeskind’s ‘Eighteen Turns’ pavilion from 2001. Its most striking quality was the way in which it seemed to unfold and transform as you walked around it.”