2023-08-14 13:49:58
Gina Sotiropoulou* 14.08.2023 • 14:49
A polygonal wooden structure housing a pleated perimeter table will be in London’s Kensington Gardens until October 29. This year’s ephemeral Serpentine Gallery Pavilion titled “On the table”is inspired by the lively conversations around it inviting guests to share their meal but also their concerns about current socio-political issues, while seeking the pleasure of the ritual of eating and being together.
The central idea of the design is based on the “togunas”, the “discussion huts” of Mali, which offer shade and have a low roof.
In the designs of the French-Lebanese woman Lina Gottmech (Lina Ghotmeh), the Pavilion is constructed entirely of wood, with minimal energy footprint, sustainability and reusability in mind.
“The use of materials results from the search for the resources of the place in which I design and from the function of the project. For example the Hermès Leather Workshop building in Normandy is made of brick. Looking for local materials I found that there are bricklayers in the area who use local land, so it made sense to use bricks, aiming for a low carbon construction. For the Pavilion, I wanted a light structure, with few foundations, easily reusable, modular. Wood was the best material,” says Gottmech.
A perimeter colonnade of spruce that evokes the scarlet tree trunks of adjacent Hyde Park is arranged under a low pleated canopy that mimics the structure of a palm leaf. In the center a large opening – atrium. As filler elements: perforated CNC-cut wood panels with floral motifs. Gottmech weaves a soft monochrome weave that lets sun and light penetrate the interior, at the center of which is a large dining room that looks like an alternative meeting room.
The central idea of the construction is based on the “togunas” of Mali. The West African community’s “discussion huts” offer shade and have a low roof so visitors sit instead of stand. A fact that makes them relax so that the conversations flow without arguments.
Gottmech’s composition is also inspired by the history of the Serpentine building. A tea house in 1934, it was transformed into an art gallery in 1970 and until the end of the 60’s it had tables in the space now occupied by the Pavilion. To commemorate the event, he partnered with the gallery cafe to offer a menu of locally sourced products with a Mediterranean feel. It aims to encourage visitors to think about how they consume – both food and material resources.
“Architecture has a life and an afterlife, just like agriculture, food production and composting,” believes Lina Gottmech. [HARRY RICHARDS]
Food for thought
Food as a basic human need or perhaps as “food for thought”? “I see architecture as a tool to learn about our environment, a porous space that is at the center of conversations and relationships that unfold over a meal, for example. The very name “At the Table” refers to the act of gathering around a table to share a meal and more, encouraging a sense of collegiality and euphoria. The concept of “togetherness” and the rituals of “the table” play a decisive role in the design,” he adds.
Born in Beirut in the 1980s, Gottmeh grew up in the “Paris of the Middle East” scarred by civil war and beyond. With architectural studies at the American University of Beirut and the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, he deals with memory, space, landscape and the “Archaeology of the Future”. The common element of the multiple “A’s”: Architecture, Archaeology, Atmosphere and Art that permeate her works “is a constant struggle for diversity, multidisciplinarity and beauty”.
The name of the work, “At the table”, refers to gathering around a table to share a meal and more.
“Growing up in Beirut, I saw the city literally being torn apart, its built landscape crumbling, nature invading and giving life back. I felt the need to restore beauty to the place, to heal what had been damaged. I studied Architecture to bring people together, in harmonious symbiosis with the environment and nature. Nature is the best architect,” says Gottmech.
In 2005 he won the international architectural competition for the design of the National Museum of Estonia and founded the DGT Architects studio in Paris. One of her first memories of arriving in Paris aged 21 is the Center Pompidou: the buzz of the grand square opposite a colorful building buzzing with life and art. While her strongest memory from Beirut: “the vast blue sea, shimmering under the golden sunlight”.
Adjunct professor at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, she has taught at Yale and the University of Toronto, while in 2021 she was appointed co-president of the French Ministry of Culture’s scientific thematic network on Architecture in Extreme Climates. Man stands at the heart of her design, she believes that women are visible on the architectural scene, as long as we look more closely, while what makes a public space interesting is “warmth, pleasure, comfort and surprise”. Its architecture wants to evoke “a lasting feeling of warmth. The ability to free yourself, to open up and come into a dialectical relationship with your memories.”
A perimeter colonnade of spruce is arranged under a low pleated canopy that imitates the structure of a palm leaf. [IWAN BAAN]
The food crisis
This year’s design of the Pavilion also raises the question of the global food crisis: the lack of food for most of the earth’s population in contrast to the relaxed social gathering around the table.
“I have been dealing with the subject for years in a space in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, next to the old Masséna station. Now a biodiversity haven, the product of an open call for innovative projects in Paris that would respond to the challenges of climate change and the functional changes our cities are undergoing. Our winning proposal was to develop a project that would address through its operation the issue of food sustainability. The idea was the food crisis and the dysfunction of the food chain. We created a place and an awareness program for the problem, organizing the various functions of the individual spaces as an ecosystem around sustainable food and sustainability. Food is what governs our essential relationship with the Earth. The multi-functional spaces of the building allow people to “walk” through the cycle of food from “fourche à la fourchette” (“from farm to fork”) through a C2C design.
The project follows the steps of the overhaul of the European food system through the “from production to consumption” strategy towards building a sustainable food system that aims to improve the environmental footprint, mitigate climate change, health and protect all economic factors in the food chain.
C2C or Cradle to Cradle is the holistic design and potentially perpetual circular circulation and production of products, materials and nutrients, mimicking nature’s biological metabolism. Chemically harmless and recyclable, no waste.
“Here one can plant, cultivate, transform, teach, live, exchange, learn, preserve, compost… We want to raise awareness about the massive food waste on the planet, as opposed to the lack of food for large part of the population. To address the complex unsustainable issues created by the globalized food chain by promoting a sustainable and fair food chain. This project, in conjunction with the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, promotes a greater understanding of the ecological and social aspects of food. It is a primary model of a complete food culture that emphasizes self-sufficiency, reuse, circular economy, feedback system. Architecture works the same way. It has a life and an afterlife, like farming, food production and composting.”
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