The Serpentine Gallery claims to have one of the lowest ratios of public subsidy per visitor of any arts organisation in England and raises 80% of its income from corporate supporters, private donors, charitable trusts and earned income.
So it is no surprise that its new £14.5m gallery, which extends the Serpentine brand across two sites, has been named after the patrons whose donation made the project possible.
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened to the public in late September and its title acknowledges the financial contribution of Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler’s foundation, which donated the largest gift received in the 43-year history of the Serpentine.
“Starchitect” Zaha Hadid
The Serpentine satellite exemplifies the kind of hybrid space brought about by the decline of state subsidies and the accelerating trend towards private and corporate patronage.
The gallery, designed by the practice of “starchitect” Zaha Hadid and opened with rounds of glamorous parties, is conceived as an event space, a new cultural and culinary destination for London.
At its launch gala dinner, which was co-hosted by the magazine Vanity Fair, guests included donors, politicians, artists, financiers and celebrities – Boris Johnson, Michael Bloomberg, Roman Abramovich, Gilbert and George and Pippa Middleton were among them.
Old and new
Generating the publicity required to sustain and grow a network of existing and potential sponsors is a significant challenge and the new building has a key role to play in architectural branding and public relations.
The choice of Hadid to transform what was formerly an 1805 gunpowder store, the Magazine, into the Serpentine’s second site has met with mixed reviews.
The resulting structure comprises two distinct parts. One is the subtle conversion of the existing classical 19th- century brick structure into a simple white gallery space.
The other is a dramatic contemporary intervention in the form of a tensile structure with undulating white canopy and frameless glass walls housing a restaurant and corporate event area.
The striking juxtaposition of old and new has divided opinion. Some critics have viewed Hadid’s remodelling of the Grade II-listed building designed by 19th-century architect Decimus Burton and located within the context of an historic parkland setting, as ill advised. But when a client commissions a Hadid – a Hadid is what they get.
Linking structures
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery announces expert authorship through the signature style of its creator. The undulating lines and curvilinear geometries are stylistic and technical motifs that define the character of Hadid’s work and make an appearance regardless of context. This is statement architecture, building as logo; instantly recognisable and publicity generating.
For the Serpentine it is surely a coup to have secured the services of architectural “royalty” for what the gallery’s director Julia Peyton-Jones has described as a stipend. The architect did not ask for her usual fee, and services that are rendered at below market value must count as some form of philanthropy.
Hadid was also the first architect invited to design the annual temporary summer pavilion in 2000 and had the opportunity to do another in 2007.
Her first summer pavilion was intended to be there for just one week but Chris Smith, then the culture secretary, was so impressed that he persuaded planners to retain the structure for three months and so the pavilion concept was born.
The idea of a summerhouse or annex, a light, open and temporary shelter, which responds to its natural setting, is a unifying theme across both Serpentine sites. The original Serpentine Gallery is located within a former tea pavilion and its lawns host the annual architecture commission.
The new Serpentine Sackler Gallery, with its billowing white roof and transparent façade, pays homage to the pavilion idea and has a lightness and temporary feel that belies its permanence.
The tent-like structure is in marked contrast to the solid appearance of its single-storey classical neighbour. Two brick barrel-vaulted rooms in which the gunpowder was originally stored form the centrepiece of the gallery surrounded by a simple sequence of continuous open and top-lit white spaces.
For the inaugural exhibition, Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas occupied the gallery with a monumental and immersive site-specific installation.
The mythical world he brought to life in clay and brick played with notions of memory, time and decay and provided a thought-provoking counterpoint to the fashionable and glossy space next door.
International sights
The Serpentine has also overhauled its branding with a redesign of graphic language and typeface, colours, imagery and new logo. The internal and external signage and identity for the Magazine restaurant, run by chef Oliver Lange, formed part of the project.
According to Pentagram, the design consultancy responsible for developing the new identity, the aim is to position the Serpentine as an open landscape for arts and culture and unite the two physical locations under one brand.
With gallery space doubled, a new image and an ambitious and expanded programme of exhibitions, including new kinds of art, cinema and literary events, the Serpentine looks set to consolidate and strengthen its position as a major player in the international cultural scene.
Nicky Ryan is the programme director at the University of the Arts London
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery designed by Zaha Hadid will host events and exhibitions
So it is no surprise that its new £14.5m gallery, which extends the Serpentine brand across two sites, has been named after the patrons whose donation made the project possible.
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened to the public in late September and its title acknowledges the financial contribution of Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler’s foundation, which donated the largest gift received in the 43-year history of the Serpentine.
“Starchitect” Zaha Hadid
The Serpentine satellite exemplifies the kind of hybrid space brought about by the decline of state subsidies and the accelerating trend towards private and corporate patronage.
The gallery, designed by the practice of “starchitect” Zaha Hadid and opened with rounds of glamorous parties, is conceived as an event space, a new cultural and culinary destination for London.
At its launch gala dinner, which was co-hosted by the magazine Vanity Fair, guests included donors, politicians, artists, financiers and celebrities – Boris Johnson, Michael Bloomberg, Roman Abramovich, Gilbert and George and Pippa Middleton were among them.
Old and new
Generating the publicity required to sustain and grow a network of existing and potential sponsors is a significant challenge and the new building has a key role to play in architectural branding and public relations.
The choice of Hadid to transform what was formerly an 1805 gunpowder store, the Magazine, into the Serpentine’s second site has met with mixed reviews.
The resulting structure comprises two distinct parts. One is the subtle conversion of the existing classical 19th- century brick structure into a simple white gallery space.
The other is a dramatic contemporary intervention in the form of a tensile structure with undulating white canopy and frameless glass walls housing a restaurant and corporate event area.
The striking juxtaposition of old and new has divided opinion. Some critics have viewed Hadid’s remodelling of the Grade II-listed building designed by 19th-century architect Decimus Burton and located within the context of an historic parkland setting, as ill advised. But when a client commissions a Hadid – a Hadid is what they get.
Linking structures
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery announces expert authorship through the signature style of its creator. The undulating lines and curvilinear geometries are stylistic and technical motifs that define the character of Hadid’s work and make an appearance regardless of context. This is statement architecture, building as logo; instantly recognisable and publicity generating.
For the Serpentine it is surely a coup to have secured the services of architectural “royalty” for what the gallery’s director Julia Peyton-Jones has described as a stipend. The architect did not ask for her usual fee, and services that are rendered at below market value must count as some form of philanthropy.
Hadid was also the first architect invited to design the annual temporary summer pavilion in 2000 and had the opportunity to do another in 2007.
Her first summer pavilion was intended to be there for just one week but Chris Smith, then the culture secretary, was so impressed that he persuaded planners to retain the structure for three months and so the pavilion concept was born.
The idea of a summerhouse or annex, a light, open and temporary shelter, which responds to its natural setting, is a unifying theme across both Serpentine sites. The original Serpentine Gallery is located within a former tea pavilion and its lawns host the annual architecture commission.
The new Serpentine Sackler Gallery, with its billowing white roof and transparent façade, pays homage to the pavilion idea and has a lightness and temporary feel that belies its permanence.
The tent-like structure is in marked contrast to the solid appearance of its single-storey classical neighbour. Two brick barrel-vaulted rooms in which the gunpowder was originally stored form the centrepiece of the gallery surrounded by a simple sequence of continuous open and top-lit white spaces.
For the inaugural exhibition, Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas occupied the gallery with a monumental and immersive site-specific installation.
The mythical world he brought to life in clay and brick played with notions of memory, time and decay and provided a thought-provoking counterpoint to the fashionable and glossy space next door.
International sights
The Serpentine has also overhauled its branding with a redesign of graphic language and typeface, colours, imagery and new logo. The internal and external signage and identity for the Magazine restaurant, run by chef Oliver Lange, formed part of the project.
According to Pentagram, the design consultancy responsible for developing the new identity, the aim is to position the Serpentine as an open landscape for arts and culture and unite the two physical locations under one brand.
With gallery space doubled, a new image and an ambitious and expanded programme of exhibitions, including new kinds of art, cinema and literary events, the Serpentine looks set to consolidate and strengthen its position as a major player in the international cultural scene.
Nicky Ryan is the programme director at the University of the Arts London
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery designed by Zaha Hadid will host events and exhibitions
Project data
- Cost £14.5m
- Main funders Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation; Bloomberg
- Architect Zaha Hadid Architects
- Main contractor Galliford Try Construction
- Structural engineer Arup
- Lighting design Isometrix Lighting and Design
- Landscape design Arabella Lennox-Boyd Landscape Design
