Lina Ghotmeh’s 2023 Serpentine Pavilion design makes its official debut this week in London. For the 22nd contribution to the summer pavilion series, the Lebanese-born and Paris-based architect showcases a design that highlights aspirations towards community gathering in a manner that speaks to the importance of building relationships while "inviting us to convene, sit down, think, share, and celebrate exchanges." 

The design for À table (whose name in French means to call and invite those to sit together for conversation and a meal) is a lightweight, pleated canopy roof that references the structure of a palm leaf. The design of the space aims to "respond to the surrounding tree canopies," while the internal wooden beans are meant to "emerge as thin tree trunks" encompassing the pavilion. The detailed, plant-like cut-out patterns of the panels assist in providing natural light and ventilation in the pavilion as it surrounds a concentric series of tables that sit within the pavilion's interior. 

Ghotmeh says the design is "an encouragement to enter into a dialogue, to convene and to think about how we could reinstate re-establish our relationship to nature and the Earth," adding its inspiration was further drawn from the Toguna huts of the Dogon people in Mali, West Africa. The arrangement offers an additional chance at conversations surrounding food, politics, and the global need for environmental concern.

The pavilion also seeks to emphasize sustainability using a palette of bio-sourced and low-carbon materials. Its structure is made out of glulam timber columns and rafters supported by a ringed central steel beam and covered by a plywood roof deck that is punctuated by a covered oculus and finished in a weatherproof liquid membrane.

A sequence of fretted plywood panels forms the façade of the pavilion, echoing the trunk-like columns enacted around its exterior. Entryways are placed at the terminus of two outer footpaths. The site is serviced by two maximally-graded exits, which accommodate the requirements of mobility-impaired visitors. 

Including the timber-framed walls, suspended floor, roof, and precast, low-cement pad foundations, the entire superstructure is "fully demountable using simple bolts and screws." According to Ghotmeh and her team, "this approach results in a very low upfront carbon footprint for the build and allows the Pavilion to be completely rebuilt in a new location after its first life in Kensington Gardens."

Ghotmeh adds: "While rooted in its place and welcoming the space of the park with its open gallery-like envelope, the Pavilion invites us into its intimate interior where light shimmers through the fretted panels enveloping its heart. Growing as an adaptable system, À table is a lightweight structure that can be easily disassembled and reassembled. It will live beyond its Serpentine site all while holding the memory of its original ground."

Ghotmeh, who will design a leather workshop for Hermès this year, collaborated with the Benugo catering company on the menu for the small café that’s located inside the structure. A pair of oak pieces she designed especially for the pavilion and with help from The Conran Shop will be included to furnish the total 3,229-square-foot design as well. 

Additionally, a soundscape taken from the architect's sketches from composer Tarek Atoui will complete the project, accompanied by a catalog from the Paris-based studio Les Grafiquants that features a conversation between Ghotmeh and Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist. 

David Adjaye served as a Project Advisor for the pavilion this year along with David Glover. The 2023 Serpentine Pavilion opens on Friday, June 9th, and runs through October 29th in Kensington Gardens. The Serpentine will also convene a series of special live performances and public events.