Jean Nouvel: Red Summer in Kensington Gardens Published by Walther König/Koenig Books. Edited by Kathryn Rattee. Text by Paul Virilio, Samantha Hardingham. Interview by Julia Peyton-Jones, Hans Ulrich Obrist. Renowned French architect Jean Nouvel designed the Serpentine Gallery's pavilion for 2010, and created a commanding, eye-catching all-red structure designed to mimic the moment "when the summer sun catches you full in the eyes and, as you blink, the world dissolves into red." Also inspired by London's red buses and telephone boxes, this dramatic and seductive pavilion consists of a cantilevered glass wall supporting a central frame, with retractable red canvas awnings, a red rubber floor and, to accommodate its many visitors, a red café bar, red table tennis tables and red hammocks, tables and chairs. "It's architecture on holiday," Nouvel has joked, also describing the pavilion as a "big sunglass." This similarly striking publication, designed by Nouvel, records the project in documentation, eight foldout posters and an interview with Nouvel by Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
|