The Serpentine Galleries in London has announced that the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion will be designed by Beirut-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh. Named "'À table,' the French call to sit down together at a table," according to a Serpentine press release, Ghotmeh's planned building aims to evoke a sense of "togetherness and community." It's a fitting goal for a space that, like its predecessors, will host a variety of public art programming upon its debut in June 2023.
"'À table' is an invitation to dwell together, in the same space and around the same table. It is an encouragement to enter into a dialogue, to convene and to think about how we could reinstate and reestablish our relationship to nature and the Earth," Ghotmeh stated in the Serpentine release. "The Earth that embraces us is our first source of sustenance; without it, we living beings could not survive. Rethinking what and how much we eat—how we ‘consume’ and how we weave our relationships to one another and the living world—moves us towards a more sustainable, ecosystemic communion with the Earth."
Environmentalism is key to the architect's plans. Taking creative cues from the surrounding landscape, Ghotmeh's low-rising building will mimic the "structures of tree leaves," according to the Serpentine release. The pavilion—which is designed for easy deconstruction and reassembly—will also be built with locally sourced wood, among other low-carbon materials.
