Plans unveiled for Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei's Serpentine Pavilion

The Serpentine Pavilion is consistently a prevalent topic of conversation in the art world, and this year will be no different. In some stunning renders, just released, we see the plans for 2012’s semi-subterranean masterpiece, the brain-fruit of genii Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei. The trio, who haven’t worked together since the epic Beijing National Stadium, are gearing up for their next Olympic venture; the creation of the 12th annual pavilion of its kind.

The building will take visitors below ground level to an entirely cork-covered space to learn about the history of the previous eleven pavilions, represented in column form. The roof of the partially exposed area will be a floating platform, and will “inspire visitors to look beneath the surface of the park as well as back in time across the ghosts of the earlier structures.”

As we can see from the images, this is going to be pretty spectacular, and a wonderful addition to the gradual rise of London’s growing collection of magnificent Olympic structures.