Twenty-five years. A span that seems almost fleeting when weighed against history, yet within it, the Serpentine Pavilion has carved out a legacy of its own. Year after year, a transient structure, temporary by design but eternal in memory, has brought to life the visions of architects from across the world. To mark its quarter-century, the Pavilion becomes more than an anniversary; it becomes a mirror of pride, a vessel of emotion. And this year, the story belongs to us. It belongs to Bangladesh, as Marina Tabassum steps into Kensington Gardens to tell a tale through architecture.

The Serpentine Pavilion is not just an annual commission. It is a ritual of anticipation in London’s Kensington Gardens, where each summer an architect of international renown is invited to imagine something new, something bold. Often, it is their first built work in the United Kingdom. The pavilion never repeats itself; each one is a voice, a signature, a glimpse into the culture from which it is born. They stand briefly, then vanish, leaving behind the echo of conversations and gatherings, a cultural heartbeat that continues long after the structure is gone.

This year’s pavilion, “A Capsule in Time,” marks a new chapter. Marina Tabassum brings with her a narrative that is both personal and universal, carrying her quiet yet powerful language of design, threaded with stories of resilience infused with the spirit of celebration. Through her design, the pavilion becomes not only a temporary structure in London, but also a vessel carrying the culture she represents. It stands as a testament to how architecture can transcend borders and moments in time, through a capsule of the culture she belongs to, gently unfolded on foreign soil.

From the capsule in time to a capsule of culture,why? The philosophy that Marina has worked with is deeply rooted in South Asian traditions. For Marina, the design was an extension of the Ganges Delta landscapes she knows so well. In the shifting sands, where rivers change course and dwellings shift, permanence is a rare luxury. Architecture, she believes, can transcend time, creating spaces that linger in memory even after they dissolve in form. Homes move with the rivers; what remains is memory. In A Capsule in Time, she gave shape to this philosophy: a structure both rooted and mobile, intimate yet porous, evoking the layered experience of belonging. A contemplation of architecture that accepts its impermanence yet insists on leaving a trace.

The visual concept recalls the ephemeral Shamiyana, carrying the spirit of Bengali gathering canopies stitched from decorated cloth and lifted high on bamboo poles. Those temporary shelters where neighbours meet and laughter moves as easily as the breeze. There, in London, the Shamiyana became architecture: the same sense of gathering, the same open invitation, but in the language of wood, light, and shadow. Four wooden capsules stood in a circle, their translucent skins breathing with daylight.

At the soul of this capsule is a courtyard. Just like in any Bengali rural homestead, at its centre stands a semi-mature Ginkgo tree anchoring the space, symbolising resilience, climate adaptability, and humanity’s primordial link to nature. If you relate philosophically, the tree’s character can also be translated to the nature of Bangladesh itself, seasonally facing harsh calamities and surviving through them. At the heart of the pavilion, aligning with the bell tower, the tree changes its colour with the season, showing the continuity of life. Its golden autumn leaves in October will trace the passage of time. Post-installation, it will be replanted within the park, just as even after being gone, souls leave traces behind.

Marina has been deeply influenced by Louis Kahn’s Bangladesh Parliament during her student life. While studying the project, she had been amazed at how the atmosphere inside a building could change with the movement of the sun and clouds. Her first lesson learnt about daylight. That lesson clearly resonates in the sensory influences and its translation in the pavilion’s light-filled design. And as per her personally developed contemporary architectural language, her design DNA is rooted in place, climate, and culture while resisting consumerist trends; something meaningful, with its own identity, which speaks for the concept of the Serpentine Pavilion 2025: “A Capsule in Time.”

This was not an isolated installation; it was a space of exchange. As a portable cultural vessel, the pavilion’s built-in shelves cradled Bengali literature and poetry, a tactile reminder of the culture from which the pavilion’s soul emerged. Over the season, the air would fill with voices, book readings, musical performances, discussions, and family gatherings; all framed by light filtering softly through the translucent walls. One capsule could glide open, transforming the courtyard into a larger gathering place, as if the structure itself was breathing in anticipation of conversation. Sustainability guided every choice: locally sourced timber, materials designed for reusability, and a future life as a public library once its days in the park were over. The pavilion was not only for looking at; it was for living in as a cultural capsule.

As visitors wandered through its curved paths and quiet corners, the pavilion became a place where strangers could meet under a shared roof, much like the Shamiyana of home. It was a translation of Bengali festivity and hospitality into the heart of a London summer. For those in Bangladesh watching from afar, the pavilion stood as a gentle reminder of what the country can offer the world; an architectural translation that is culturally grounded, environmentally thoughtful, and deeply human.

When October’s light will finally fade in Kensington Gardens, the pavilion’s timber and fabric moved on, but its presence remained in photographs, in the minds of those who stepped inside, and in the stories told about it across oceans. Marina Tabassum had not just built a structure; she had created a moment suspended in light and memory. It was an accent of Bangladesh written softly into the landscape of London, where a tree, a canopy, and a circle of capsules came together to remind us that the most lasting architecture is often the most fleeting.

Project name
“A Capsule in Time”
by Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)
Lead Architect
Marina Tabassum (Bangladesh)
Dates
6 June – 26 October 2025
Photo
Asif Salman

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