A few months ago, the Serpentine Galleries announced that Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum and her studio, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), would design the 24th Serpentine Pavilion at Serpentine South in London.
Titled A Capsule in Time, the project explores the relationship between architecture and time—a theme central to Tabassum’s practice, which often reflects on memory, impermanence, and the socio-ecological context of Bangladesh.
This edition marks the 25th anniversary of the Pavilion program, launched in 2000 with Zaha Hadid’s first design. Over the years, the Pavilion has become a space for architectural experimentation and public engagement.
Tabassum’s structure will consist of four timber capsules with semi-transparent facades, inspired by Shamiyana—traditional South Asian canopies. Arranged around a courtyard built around a large tree, the design frames the Serpentine South bell tower and invites collective use. One of the capsules will be mobile, introducing a kinetic element that transforms the space over time.
Following the 2024 Pavilion by Minsuk Cho, which focused on the margins by emptying the center, Tabassum shifts the narrative to time and rootedness, offering a space shaped by light, memory, and change.
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