Current Situation and Solution: Serpentine Sackler Gallery Canopy – A Blend of Old and New Architecture
In contemporary architecture, the reconciliation of historic buildings and modern design is a major challenge, requiring creativity and advanced techniques. The Serpentine Sackler Gallery canopy is a prime example of this perfect combination. The building is covered with a new, modern, triple-layered fabric, seamlessly blending the existing 19th-century architecture with the ultra-modern 21st-century architecture. This new space, with its ephemeral restaurant and social areas, is designed to be a special destination. As Zaha Hadid shared in the Magazine DezeenThe idea is to demonstrate that two worlds – old and new, with gardens and parks – can come together seamlessly. Although the structure appears temporary when adjacent to the 19th-century building, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery canopy is a permanent, fully enclosed, multifunctional addition to the Serpentine Gallery.
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Technical Requirements Analysis & Solution Context
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery project posed complex technical and contextual requirements:
* Integrating history and modernity: The biggest challenge was adding a permanent, multi-functional structure (restaurant, social space) to a 19th century historic building while ensuring architectural harmony and open space.
* Complex Shape: Realizing a free-flowing, curving cone shape requires dynamically shaped materials and sophisticated load-bearing structures.
* Environmental control: Ensures interior spaces are filled with natural light while still being effectively insulated, meeting fire safety and sustainability standards.
* Overall aesthetics: The structure must be beautiful from every angle, inside and out, and must create a feeling of lightness and floating.
This context requires the use of advanced building materials, capable of overcoming the limitations of traditional materials and responding to the unique architectural vision of the Zaha Hadid Architects.
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Technical Solutions
The Serpentine Sackler gallery canopy is a technical achievement, using fabric as a construction medium to create a structure that is light, bright and sustainable from every angle.
Collaboration and Fabric as a Construction Medium
Architen Landrell had the pleasure of collaborating with Zaha Hadid Architects on this unique project, following on from the success of the London 2012 Informatics Centre. Zaha Hadid saw the potential of using fabric as a construction medium for the Serpentine Sackler gallery canopy, with the desire to create a structure that was light, bright and beautiful from every angle, inside and out. Unlike other construction mediums, fabric can create dynamic undulating forms, and this building truly showcases what is possible with a fabric-supported structure. Architen Landrell.
Complex design and material composition
The free-flowing conical structure of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery canopy is itself incredibly complex in design, featuring five elliptical enamelled bands (to transmit light), five tapering columns (for structural support), a double curvature (in all directions) and a shape that appears to touch the ground at two points. Frameless glass walls encircle the building, creating the illusion that the roof is floating in space.
The canopy fabric is a three layer system:
- Outer layer: PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) chosen for its long life, Class 0 fire rating and self-cleaning properties.
- Middle layer: A fireproof insulation layer of Firefly Vulcan and Expert 50.
- Inner layer: Atex 2000 Silicone Coated Glass.
Each layer covers approximately $538\text{m}^2$ of surface area. This three-layer insulation system achieves a U-Value of $0.18$ and meets the Part L requirements for energy performance.
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Results and Performance Evaluation
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery Canopy is a striking and stunning project that succeeds in creating a unique art exhibition space. Not only has the project attracted media attention, it has also highlighted fabric as a design and building material of the century. The ability to seamlessly combine the existing 19th century architecture with the ultra-modern architecture of the 21st century, and to create a restaurant and social space with an ephemeral feel, has transformed the site into a true destination. The complexity of the design (free-flowing cones, double curvatures, tapered columns) combined with the use of fabric as a construction medium demonstrate the potential of load-bearing fabric structures to create dynamic and unique forms. Material performance (PTFE, insulation, glass-coated silicone) ensures longevity, fire safety and energy efficiency, turning the Serpentine Sackler gallery canopy into an architectural icon that demonstrates the harmonious combination of history and future.
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Contact Technical Consulting
Flexiiform is proud to be one of the leading units in Vietnam providing professional Tensile Fabric design and construction solutions. With a team of well-trained and skilled Architects and Engineers, we are proud to be the only unit in Vietnam receiving professional advice from FasTech Company – The leading design and construction company of tensioned fabric structures in Thailand, with nearly 30 years of prestige and experience in the industry and successfully implemented more than 1,000 tensioned fabric projects in Thailand and Southeast Asia. With the strength of creative ideas in tensioned fabric architectural design and practical construction methods, Flexiiform is confident to bring the most optimal solutions for each specific project, similar to the Serpentine Sackler gallery canopy.
For expert advice or to request a detailed quote, please contact us.
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