Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Architect Toyo Ito

Engineers and lighting designers Arup

Client Serpentine Gallery

The Pavilion in Kensington Gardens designed

by Toyo Ito, can hardly be described as an

exercise in daylighting design; however it has

been included in the Case Studies, as daylight

has clearly informed the architect’s entire

design. Perhaps the building is best described

as an ‘abstract work of art.’

The building is the third in a series of

galleries commissioned to provide a unique

showcase for contemporary architectural

practice, following works by Zaha Hadid, and

Daniel Libeskind, to design a pavilion for the

gallery’s lawn.

The purpose of the building was basically a

restaurant during the day, and it is most

successful in this, with views out on to

Kensington Gardens, in which there is no

need for artificial lighting.

In the evening the building is described by

the sponsors as playing host to a special

programme of summer events, architectural

talks, film screenings and the BBC poetry

proms, all requiring little or no artificial

lighting. It can therefore be said that this

project is entirely naturally lit. It is equally

important to recognize that it is an ephemeral

building, a ‘statement’ intended to be replaced

the following year; it therefore required none

of the limitations of having to withstand the

test over time.

Since it would be difficult, if not impossible,

to describe the pavilion adequately in words,

it is best described in a series of photographs,

which indicate the quality of the space, and

the way in which it interacts on its

surroundings in the park.

154 Daylighting: Natural Light in Architecture

Exterior with entrance steps

The wall and roof plans

Arup

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