The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Zaha Hadid, will open to the public on Saturday, 28 September 2013.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery gives new life to The Magazine, a former 1805 gunpowder store, located five minutes walk from the Serpentine Gallery on the north side of the Serpentine Bridge. With 900 square metres of new gallery, restaurant and social space, the Serpentine’s second space in Kensington Gardens will be a new cultural destination in the heart of London. From this autumn, the Serpentine will present its unrivalled programme of exhibitions and events across both Galleries and into the Park.

The new Gallery is named after Dr Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler, whose Foundation has made the project possible through the largest single gift received by the Serpentine Gallery in its 43-year history. Major funding has also been awarded by Bloomberg, long term supporters of the Serpentine as well as sponsors of the opening exhibition.

In 2010 the Serpentine Gallery won the tender from The Royal Parks to bring the Grade II* listed building into public use for the first time in its 208- year history. The Serpentine Gallery has restored the building to an excellent standard, in partnership with The Royal Parks, renovating and extending it to designs by Zaha Hadid. A light and transparent extension complements rather than competes with the neo-classical architecture of the original building. It is the Zaha Hadid Architects’ first permanent structure in central London and continues a relationship between the Gallery and the architect, which began with the inaugural Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Commission in 2000. The landscape around the new building will be designed and planted by the world-renowned landscape artist Arabella Lennox-Boyd.

The opening exhibition in the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is the first UK exhibition by the young Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas, who is gaining international renown for his dramatic, large-scale sculptural works. At the same time, in the Serpentine Gallery, there will be a major retrospective of the work by Italian sculptor Marisa Merz, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Venice Biennale. A redesigned website will feature the inaugural Digital Commission, while the first annual Bridge Commission explores the route between the two galleries with a series of short stories by twelve internationally acclaimed writers. Each story is timed to last as long as it takes to walk from the Serpentine Gallery to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine’s expanded presence in Kensington Gardens will be illustrated by a specially commissioned map by the artist Michael Craig-Martin.

Responding to its unique location in The Royal Park of Kensington Gardens, an expanded programme of eight exhibitions will now follow the seasons with different shows in each gallery four times a year. The seasonal theme carries through to the wider programme with the Pavilion commission signalling the start of London’s summer and the multidisciplinary Marathon, a fixture of Frieze week in the autumn. The Serpentine’s programme of outdoor sculpture with The Royal Parks continues with Fischli/Weiss’s monumental Rock on Top of Another Rock, which remains in place until March 2014.

The opening of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery marks a new beginning for the internationally acclaimed arts organisation, which has championed new ideas in contemporary arts since it opened in 1970. The Serpentine Gallery has presented pioneering exhibitions of 1,600 artists over 43 years, from the work of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists and architects of our time such as Louise Bourgeois, Frank Gehry, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei.

Voting has begun in Westminster’s search for the city’s best building of the last decade, recognising the capital’s cutting-edge architecture with a design excellence award.

Westminster is home to some of the country’s most famous buildings and landmarks. To recognise, celebrate and promote architectural excellence across the city, Westminster City Council (WCC) has launched the first People’s Choice Award.

The award has been launched as part of a broader campaign to engage the public in a debate about what makes a great building, recognising cutting edge, high quality designs from the past 10 years.

An expert panel comprising of experienced architects, developers, councillors and planners has shortlisted 12 designs and now those who live, work and visit the city can vote for their favourite modern building.

The panel considered each building’s use of materials, its purpose and impact on the space around it when making the final selection.

The shortlist is made up of buildings which serve all parts of the community with housing, office, retail, education and gallery space all put forward for the public to vote on.

The award is being led by Councillor Robert Davis MBE DL, Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council. He said: “From sleek glass art galleries to outstanding housing developments, each of these buildings finds inventive solutions to unique architectural challenges.

“Brilliant architectural design should be recognised for all the fantastic benefits it can have in terms of health and wellbeing, sustainability, and the simple pleasure we all take from having such striking buildings lining our routes home and to work. "The best people to ask about the impact these buildings have are those who see them day in, day out, and so I am delighted that we have been able to engage the public in a debate about what makes a great building and to promote design excellence," explained Cllr Davis.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened in 2013, welcoming visitors from around the world to its many programmes exploring contemporary creativity.

In 2010 the Serpentine Gallery won the tender from The Royal Parks to bring the listed Magazine building into public use for the first time in its 208-year history. In partnership with The Royal Parks, the Serpentine Gallery has restored the building, renovating and extending it to designs by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Built in 1805 in London’s Kensington Gardens as a gunpowder store during the Napoleonic Wars, the Magazine building has been renovated and repurposed into the Serpentine Sackler Gallery - one of London’s most popular spaces for art. A light and transparent extension complements the solidity of the original neo-classical building. Using tensile architectural fabric supported by sculptural columns crafted in steel, Zaha Hadid Architects created a permanent ‘pavilion in the park’ for the gallery’s new public event space and Magazine restaurant, described by AA Gill in The Sunday Times as “one of the most inspiringly beautiful dining rooms in London, in Europe, in the world… just breathtaking.”

Championing new ideas in contemporary art for almost half a century, the Serpentine Galleries have presented pioneering exhibitions of more than 2,000 artists, showing a wide range of work from emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists and architects of our time, including Zaha Hadid herself. The Serpentine offers innovative ways for all ages to engage with modern and contemporary art, architecture and design through its exhibitions, projects, education and public programmes. www.serpentinegalleries.org

Since opening the new Sackler Gallery, the Serpentine has welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors each year.

3-Oct-2013

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, will open to the public on Saturday, 28 September 2013.

The Serpentine Sackler Gallery gives new life to The Magazine, a former 1805 gunpowder store, located seven minutes’ walk from the Serpentine Gallery on the north side of the Serpentine Bridge. With 900 square metres of new gallery, restaurant and social space, the Serpentine’s second space in Kensington Gardens is a new cultural destination in the heart of London. This autumn, the Serpentine presents its unrivalled programme of exhibitions and events across both Galleries and into Kensington Gardens.

The new Gallery is named after Dr Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler, whose Foundation has made the project possible through the largest single gift received by the Serpentine Gallery in its 43-year history. Major funding has also been awarded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg is a long term supporter of the Serpentine as well as sponsor of the opening exhibition. The total build cost is £14.5 million.

In 2010 the Serpentine Gallery won the tender from The Royal Parks to bring the Grade II* listed building into public use for the first time in its 208-year history. The Serpentine Gallery has restored the building to an excellent standard, in partnership with The Royal Parks, renovating and extending it to designs by Zaha Hadid Architects. A light and transparent extension complements rather than competes with the neo-classical architecture of the original building. It is Zaha Hadid Architects’ first permanent structure in central London and continues a relationship which began with the inaugural Serpentine Gallery Pavilion Commission in 2000. The landscape around the new building will be designed and planted by the world-renowned landscape designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd.

The opening exhibition in the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is the first UK exhibition by the young Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas, who is gaining international renown for his dramatic, large-scale sculptural works. At the same time, in the Serpentine Gallery, there is a major retrospective of the work by Italian sculptor Marisa Merz, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Venice Biennale.

A redesigned website features the inaugural Digital Commission by Cecile B. Evans, while the first annual Bridge Commission explores the route between the two Galleries with a series of texts by twelve internationally acclaimed writers. Each story is timed to last as long as it takes to walk from the Serpentine Gallery to the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine’s expanded presence in Kensington Gardens is illustrated by a specially commissioned map by the artist Michael Craig-Martin.

Responding to its unique location in The Royal Park of Kensington Gardens, an expanded programme of eight exhibitions will now follow the seasons with different shows in each Gallery four times a year. The seasonal theme carries through to the wider programme with the Pavilion Commission signalling the start of London’s summer and the multi-disciplinary Marathon, a fixture of Frieze week in the autumn. The Serpentine’s programme of outdoor sculpture with The Royal Parks continues with Fischli/Weiss’s monumental Rock on Top of Another Rock, which remains in place until March 2014.

The opening of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery marks a new beginning for the internationally acclaimed arts organisation, which has championed new ideas in contemporary arts since it opened in 1970. The Serpentine Gallery has presented pioneering exhibitions of 1,600 artists over 43 years, from the work of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists and architects of our time, such as Louise Bourgeois, Frank Gehry, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter, Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei.