好色先生TV

The Japanese architect SANAA describes this year鈥檚 pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery as a 鈥渇loating cloud鈥� 鈥� ironic, since its launch on Wednesday was accompanied by dense layers of the real thing. Hardly auspicious for the launch of a summer pavilion.

SANAA is the ninth architect to tackle the structure 鈥� the honour is reserved for designers who鈥檝e never built in the UK before 鈥� and it follows the likes of Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Oscar Niemeyer. This building could hardly be more different from last year鈥檚 model: a deconstructivist festival of angles designed by Frank Gehry.

SANAA鈥檚 pavilion is much more in keeping with its environs: a canopy of aluminium held up by steel columns, it swirls around the site like a sinuous pool of suspended water. Ryue Nishizawa, one half of SANAA, said he and partner Kazuyo Sejima had been influenced by its surroundings. He said: 鈥淭he shape creates a relationship with the park 鈥� we had ideas of water and rainbows and leaves.鈥�

As usual, the design team worked with Peter Rogers of Stanhope and Cecil Balmond and Ed Clark of Arup to make sure the structure was easily demountable for reuse elsewhere. The pavilion鈥檚 reflective surface was achieved using polished aluminium panels bonded to a plywood core. Transparent acrylic panels make up free-standing 鈥渨alls鈥�.

The finished building is quiet and reflective in more ways than one. In its ordered elegance it resembles a Japanese garden. It鈥檚 not as loud a statement as some of its predecessors, but seems to tap into the intention of a summer pavilion rather better than most of them. Let鈥檚 just hope that its main function is not to shelter visitors from the rain 鈥�

Original print headline - The serpent in the garden