As work wraps on Zaha Hadid's extension for the Serpentine Gallery in London's Kensington Gardens, emerging project photos show off an undulating structure that looks like (high-design!) white putty draped on top of glass walls. The structure's curves and homage to futurism are hardly surprising coming from the starchitect whose renown stems from a portfolio brimming with shapeless, colorless buildings—from shoe stores to Olympic stadiums to condos to university buildings—though this may be her debut in the realm of gorgeous, Play-Doh-esque, circus-tent-like buildings.
The stats: officially opening Saturday, the building was made in the footprint of a (circa 1805) gunpowder store, measuring about 9,700-square-feet and located seven minutes from the gallery proper. Inside: a gallery, a restaurant, and a "social zone," per Design Boom. The design blog also fawns: "Hadid has envisioned a dynamic, white undulating and peaking roof top—a light and transparent extension—the contemporary structure compliments, rather than competes with the original neo-classical architecture."
· Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Zaha Hadid [Dezeen]
· Serpentine Sackler Gallery by Zaha Hadid Opens. [Design Boom]
· All Zaha Hadid posts [Curbed National]