What SelgasCano’s Serpentine Pavilion May Look Like

With an emphasis on the natural environment and bright colors, here’s a round up of projects by Spanish architects José Selgas and Lucía Cano in anticipation of how they’ll transform London’s Kensington Gardens next summer.

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Factory Mérida, Badajoz, Spain by SelgasCano

Credit: Iwan Baan

Factory Mérida, Badajoz, Spain by SelgasCano


Yesterday’s announcement from the Serpentine Gallery has left the architecture world abuzz of how SelgasCano, the first Spanish practcie to be chosen for the annual commission, will design London’s Kensingston Gardens next summer for its 15th anniversary. Headed by José Selgas and Lucía Cano, married couple and co-founders, the firm’s design scheme consists of bright colors, synthetic materials, and interactive components with an emphasis on the natural environment taking precedence over their buildings. As one of the most attended architecture exhibitions in the world, these aspects seem only right for a temporary, mutli-purpose space, that will host a public café, for the summer. To get an idea of the firm’s plans for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, which will be announced in February 2015, we’ve rounded up some of the practice’s projects that best exemplify its work.

See all of these projects by SelgasCano in ARCHITECT’s Project Gallery.

For their firm’s Madrid office, Selgas and Cano designed a long, glass-walled tube in the forest, so we may see something along the lines of their Office in the Woods if they decide to follow the example of OfficeUS in this year’s Venice Biennale.

Office in the Woods, Madrid, Spain by SelgasCano

Credit: Iwan Baan

Office in the Woods, Madrid, Spain by SelgasCano


SelgasCano had its own entry in the 2012 Venice Architecture Exhibition, SPAINLab: Al aire (in between air), which could mean more hanging plant life for the 2015 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.


Amidst the Air, Installation at 13th Venice Biennale, Italy, 2012

Credit: Hisao Suzuki

Amidst the Air, Installation at 13th Venice Biennale, Italy, 2012


If SelgasCano opts for cheekiness, the firm might take cues from its earlier project, Factory Mérida, to introduce a skate park in Central London.

Factory Merida, Badajoz, Spain by SelgasCano

Credit: Iwan Baan

Factory Merida, Badajoz, Spain by SelgasCano


We might find additional clues in SelgasCano’s earlier works as well.

Plasencia Auditorium

Plasencia Auditiorium and Congress Center, Cáceres, Spain, 2005

Credit: Hisao Suzuki

Plasencia Auditiorium and Congress Center, Cáceres, Spain, 2005


El “B” Cartagena, Auditorium and Congress Centre

El ‘B’ Cartagena, Auditorium and Congress Centre, Murcia, Spain by SelgasCano

Credit: Iwan Baan

El ‘B’ Cartagena, Auditorium and Congress Centre, Murcia, Spain by SelgasCano


Silicon House

Projekt: Casa Selgas Cano

Architekt: Selgas Cano

Ort: Madrid

Credit: Roland Halbe

Projekt: Casa Selgas Cano Architekt: Selgas Cano Ort: Madrid


About the Author

Chelsea Blahut

Chelsea Blahut is a former engagement editor at Hanley Wood. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Journalism and Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseablahut.

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