This year?s annual architecture folly takes its rounded form from the baobab tree.
It?s that time of the year again: the 2017 Serpentine Galleries pavilion, an annual Instagram phenom of an architectural folly, is here.
For the Serpentine?s 17th temporary pavilion, which opens to the public on Friday, June 23 in London?s Kensington Gardens, Berlin-based architect Diébédo Francis Kéré conjured a joyful, tree-shaped structure that works together with its verdant surroundings.
Known for his socially engaged architecture, Kéré has built several education and health facilities across his home country of Burkina Faso, where his buildings?with their clean lines, simple materials, and elemental beauty, have created an essential infrastructure. His expertise lies in creating low-cost buildings that adapt to the local climate and are built using local materials and traditional techniques. ?I believe that architecture has the power to surprise, unite, and inspire all, while mediating important aspects such as community, ecology and economy,? he says.

Congratulations #FrancisKere on your stunning @serpentineuk Pavilion as seen in #FriezeProjects 2016 #OpernDorfAfrika A post shared by Nathan CG (@followaginger) on Jun 20, 2017 at 10:40am PDT

With this latest project, Kéré demonstrates how his architecture can make a seamless transition from Burkina Faso?s red clay soils to the Serpentine?s manicured lawn. ?In Burkina Faso, I am accustomed to being confronted wi...