Serpentine Gallery London’s Beijing pavilion and the architect behind its imposing black arches in Wangfujing
Modelled on the Serpentine’s annual summer pavilion in London and the first built outside the UK, Beijing space will be used from May to October for arts, music and yoga workshops, food tastings, film screenings, and talks with artists
Rising from the sprawling lawn like a tidal wave next to a new shopping centre in Wangfujing commercial district, in downtown Beijing, it’s hard to miss the gigantic curved beams that make up part of the first Serpentine Gallery pavilion built outside the UK.
Inspired by Confucianism and a flexed Chinese archer’s bow, the imposing black arched structure is about retention and balance, according to its designer, Chengdu-based architect Liu Jiakun.
In Western archery, the archer pulls back the bowstring and shoots, unlike what Chinese archers do, he explained.
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“Chinese archers don’t release the bow immediately [as a meditation practice] … the idea of maintaining self-balance while being charged with energy [from the fully flexed bow] comes from the East. What we want to achieve is a spatial installation that … pushes the boundaries of contemporary architectural practice,” Liu said.
Now in his 60s, Liu is known for his minimalist and elegant designs. His works include the Luyeyuan Buddhist Sculpture Museum in Chengdu, southwest China, a collection of stone structures by a river that makes ingenious use of natural lighting.
His style is in stark contrast to the flamboyant and garish contemporary structures that have been popping up across China in recent years to show off the country’s growing wealth and power.
