SPACE April 2025 (No. 689)
Rendering image of A Capsule in Time ©Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)
Marina Tabassum (principal, Marina Tabassum Architects), has been selected as the designer of the Serpentine Pavilion 2025, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. Since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery has annually invited world-renowned architects who have not yet undertaken projects in the U.K. to exhibit experimental pavilions. Tabassum, a Bangladeshi female architect and educator, has developed a unique contemporary architectural language rooted in the specific geographical and cultural contexts of Bangladesh. In her pavilion titled ‘A Capsule in Time’, Tabassum interprets the inherently temporary nature of the pavilion as a ‘capsule of memory and time’, drawing connections to the lives of people living in the Bengal Delta. In this region, residents are forced to relocate frequently due to recurring floods and inundations. As a result, buildings are seen as ephemeral, and yet the memories of past dwellings are preserved and passed down through storytelling. In this context, temporary spaces are reinterpreted as capsules containing stories and the memories of a place. A Capsule in Time will be implemented as a segmented capsule-shaped wooden structure. Transparent panels will be inserted between the geometrically patterned wooden structures to create a flow of light through the structure, inspired by the traditional Bengali Shamiyana. One of the four arch-shaped modules that form the capsule structure will be designed to move, allowing for spatial transformation. A Capsule in Time is scheduled to open on June. 6.
