After over a decade of temporary pavilions designed by some of architecture’s most prolific minds, Summer at the Serpentine unites these images of the Serpentine Gallery’s temporary structure’s on the pages of a book, with illustrations from each architect and penmanship from renown architecture writer Philip Jodido.

“Since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens has called on some of the world’s top architects to design summer pavilions – temporary structures that are erected next to the Gallery itself for a three-month period. The Serpentine, which was built in 1934 as a tea pavilion, opened in 1970 as a showplace for exhibitions of modern and contemporary artists. The only architecture program of its type in the world, the Serpentine Gallery Pavilions attract up to 250,000 visitors each summer.”

Some of the  Serpentine pavilion architects are names that have almost seamlessly blended into pop culture; Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Oscar Niemeyer are only a few examples included.

Available for purchase through TASCHEN.

More images after the jump.

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010 by Jean Nouvel opens for Summer this weekend (July 10, 2010).

Nouvel’s offering is the 10th in the annual commission by the gallery. Noted as one of the most ambitious architectural programs world wide, the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010 will be Nouvel’s first completed building in the United Kingdom. In vivid red, the pavilion reflects some of London’s most iconic objects – buses, telephone booths – and contrasts with the lush greens of Hyde Park.

In structure, the pavilion is an exercise in juxtaposing lightweight materials with a metal cantilever that creates bold geometric shapes.

The building will be up and in use through October.

More images after the jump.

A groundbreaking exploration of the contemporary Indian arts movement, Indian Highway is on view at London’s Serpentine Gallery until February 22, 2009. The exhibition draws from a rich range of media, connecting the work to the theme of the highway — and the role of the road in migration and movement through the sub-continent. Well established artists hang beside lesser knowns, producing a full snap of a vibrant new generation.

The Serpentine Gallery is located in Kensington Gardens, London, W2.