The first Serpentine Pavilion co-commissioned and built outside the UK has opened its figurative doors in Beijing this week. 

Designed by JIAKUN Architects, the temporary structure is the result of a collaboration between London's Serpentine Galleries and WF CENTRAL in Beijing. First renderings of the structure, which draws inspiration from Confucianism mimicking the figure of an archer, were unveiled earlier this year.

From the project description: "The Serpentine Pavilion Beijing will be a public space for cultural activities, events and social encounters at the very heart of WF CENTRAL, with a programme of cultural activities programmed across five Pavilion Weekends over the summer."

"With a focus on society, community and vernacular craftsmanship, engaging a local context, Liu Jiakun aims to address contemporary architectural issues with a sense of realism, an approach inspired by folk wisdom. His vision remains open to China's many traditions and his projects shed light on the reciprocal relation between Chinese public life and urban cultural space."

"JIAKUN Architects’ Serpentine Pavilion Beijing takes inspiration from Confucianism with an architecture that is a physical representation of the traditional pursuit of Junzi. The design is characterised by the figure of the Archer, in the form of a curved cantilever beam that incorporates the forces of elasticity through cables stretched between steel plates. Although modern architecture in Beijing has developed a series of powerful techniques to fight the external forces of fierce winds and unpredictable earthquakes, the Pavilion’s integral structure aims – like the Tai Chi Master – to conquer the harshness of those forces with softness."

The Beijing Serpentine Pavilion will be on display at WF CENTRAL in Beijing's Dongcheng District until October 31.