Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum, alongside her firm Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), has been selected to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion, marking the 25th anniversary of the Serpentine’s internationally renowned architectural commission. Opening to the public at Serpentine South on 6 June 2025 and sponsored by Goldman Sachs, the project—titled A Capsule in Time—merges Tabassum’s exploration of ephemeral architecture with the Pavilion’s iconic tradition of pushing design boundaries.
Elevating Climate-Conscious Architecture
In the global context of climate change, Tabassum’s work stands out for its responsiveness to environmental and social challenges, particularly in Bangladesh. With MTA, she has developed architectural projects that balance contemporary design with localized, climate-aware solutions. Notably, MTA’s Khudi Bari—or “Small House”—is a mobile, modular home intended for riverine communities threatened by extreme weather and shifting river courses. In a region where climate volatility often demands relocation for survival, these portable structures illustrate how architecture can blend adaptability and dignity.
By choosing Tabassum, the Serpentine continues its legacy of spotlighting architects whose designs engage with pressing global concerns. In Bangladesh, river erosion and rising seas create an architectural landscape in which “permanence” is rarely assured. Traditional building methods must adapt to shifting courses of water, making fluidity, modularity, and minimal environmental impact essential qualities in design. Through MTA’s body of work, Tabassum has embraced these realities, forging projects that explore the boundaries of “ephemeral” architecture and challenge conventional notions of durability, permanence, and place.
A Capsule in Time: Design and Vision
The 2025 Pavilion, stretching north to south, features a central courtyard aligned with the Serpentine South bell tower. Four sculptural wooden capsules define the structure, each outfitted with a translucent façade reminiscent of arched garden canopies. By filtering and diffusing light, these pods evoke the experience of standing under a tree’s branches on a sunny afternoon—an homage to the heritage of park-going. One of the capsules is kinetic, capable of repositioning itself to adapt to various events and audience needs.
Marina Tabassum, Architect, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), said:
“We are thrilled to be selected as the architect of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. When conceiving our design, we reflected on the transient nature of the commission which appears to us as a capsule of memory and time. The relationship between time and architecture is intriguing: between permanence and impermanence, of birth, age and ruin; architecture aspires to outlive time. Architecture is a tool to live behind legacies, fulfilling the inherent human desire for continuity beyond life. In the Bengal delta, architecture is ephemeral as dwellings change locations with the rivers shifting courses. Architecture becomes memories of the lived spaces continued through tales. The archaic volume of a half capsule, generated by geometry and wrapped in light semi-transparent material will create a play of filtered light that will pierce through the structure as if under a Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding. The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to unite as people rich in diversity. The stage is set, the seats are placed. We envision various events and encounters taking place in this versatile space that unifies people through conversations and connections.”
Drawing inspiration from Shamiyana tents—ubiquitous in South Asia for weddings and community gatherings—Tabassum’s design celebrates social connections under open-air structures. These canopies are typically erected using fabric and bamboo poles, an example of rapid, adaptable architecture. True to her heritage and her commitment to social cohesion, Tabassum frames the Pavilion as an interactive environment where visitors can come together, fostering a communal spirit under shifting patterns of light.
Echoes of History, Hints of the Future
Launched in 2000 by Dame Zaha Hadid, the Serpentine Pavilion commission has evolved into a platform for experimental architecture, offering some of the most significant and emerging voices in the field their first UK structures. Throughout its 25 years, the Pavilion has become a canvas for architects to explore how design can respond to cultural, ecological, and spatial challenges in contemporary society.
Bettina Korek, Chief Executive, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, said:
“A Capsule in Time will honour connections with the Earth and celebrate the spirit of community. Built around a mature tree at the centre of the structure, Tabassum’s design will bring the park inside the Pavilion. Its kinetic dimension will also harken back to the levitating element of Rem Koolhaas & Cecil Balmond with Arup’s Serpentine Pavilion 2006. We are grateful to all of our loyal supporters who make this groundbreaking commission possible and look forward to announcing a full programme of live events and public programmes that will bring people together around Tabassum’s visionary, spiritual and social structure. This is a milestone year for the Serpentine Pavilion Commission as we celebrate 25 years since the inception of this prestigious programme.”
That sense of ongoing innovation resonates with Tabassum’s own ethos. Her work forges links between past and future, between the timeless and the transitory. Indeed, part of the design process in the Bengal delta is shaped by cyclical floods and eroding riverbanks, paralleling the role of the Pavilion as a temporary structure, ultimately dismantled after its run. In both cases, the architectural approach emphasizes minimal ecological impact and maximum community engagement.
Sustaining Dialogue and Participation
For the duration of its installation—from 6 June to 26 October 2025—A Capsule in Time will also serve as a stage for Serpentine’s events and live programmes, including the annual Park Nights series. Celebrating interdisciplinary encounters, Park Nights harnesses the architectural framework of the Pavilion to host music performances, film screenings, dance recitals, literary readings, and more. The ephemeral quality of Tabassum’s design lends itself seamlessly to these vibrant gatherings.
This focus on participation underscores the Serpentine’s mission to remain a free, inclusive platform in the heart of London’s Kensington Gardens. Over the past two decades, the Pavilion has showcased pioneering structures by architects from across the globe, fueling dialogue about the role of design in shaping public space. The introduction of a dynamic, movable capsule in 2025 promises new ways for visitors to engage with the architecture—both in its physical form and as an evolving metaphor for adaptability amid climatic and societal change.
A Global Resonance
Tabassum’s selection for the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion spotlights the interplay between architectural ambition, cultural roots, and urgent environmental questions. Her firm has won accolades including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016 for the Bait ur Rouf Mosque, an austere yet luminous structure in Dhaka that emphasizes natural light. Such accolades reflect a consistent theme: the fusion of architectural modernism with local climate, materials, and social practices.
At a time when sustainability is a global imperative, the Serpentine Pavilion’s 25-year history provides a stage for ideas that challenge the status quo. Tabassum’s ephemeral design in London echoes her practice in the Bengal delta, highlighting a universal truth: structures must be resilient enough to endure ecological changes but flexible enough to adapt—much like the people who occupy them.
Looking Ahead
As A Capsule in Time prepares to greet the public in June 2025, anticipation grows around how Tabassum’s visionary approach will reshape perceptions of the built environment. The interplay of wood, translucent panels, and open sky will situate the Pavilion as both artifact and living space—an ephemeral fixture that rethinks how architecture can build community, even as it nods to the broader challenges of climate and cultural continuity.
This milestone in the Serpentine Pavilion Commission invites visitors to experience a dialogue between the ephemeral and the permanent, bridging continents and cultures. It also celebrates 25 years of experimental architecture—a quarter-century legacy that, in Tabassum’s hands, both upholds tradition and pushes the boundaries of design. As the Pavilion opens, it will not only offer a refuge under London’s summer sun but also stand as a testament to architecture’s evolving role in uniting people, preserving memory, and embracing change.
