This year's Serpentine Gallery pavilion has been illuminated by the lighting design team at AECOM using Viabizzuno luminaires.
Architect Sou Fujimoto's 'cloud-like' latticed structure of 20mm steel poles occupies some 350 square-metres of lawn in front of the Serpentine Gallery and was opened to the public on 8 June.
After the Japanese architect accepted a commission to design a temporary structure for the gallery, AECOM designed the lighting layout for the pavilion's structure, using a mix of warm white LEDs and metal halide fittings from the Viabizzuno range.
The light fittings are recessed flush within the gravel and invisible during the day. Strange shapes are often created by clouds but at the Serpentine Gallery it is the other way round, as a white cloud becomes visible. After dark, light is reflected from the white delicate structure and creates a general glow.
AECOM used less powerful luminaires (3W LEDs) with an opaque lens in the lower, denser sections of the pavilion to control?glare for visitors. All the luminaries were equally-distributed below the steel structure leaving the central part of the pavilion free. In total, 66 luminaires are divided into 18 separately switchable control groups to offer different lighting scenarios.
This is the second time Viabizzuno has sponsored the lights for the pavilion having previously done so for Peter Zumthor in 2011.
Every year, an architect is invited to accept the Serpentine's annual pavilion commission. Inspired by organic structures, such as the forest, the nest and the cave, Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 will enjoy a four-month tenure at London's Kensington gardens.
