Gleeds to work on Serpentine Pavilion job

International management and construction consultancy Gleeds is to act as quantity surveyor for this year’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, the firm has revealed.

The Hyde Park gallery’s 12th annual summer pavilion has been designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, the team behind the 2008 Beijing Olympics Bird’s Nest stadium.

The design will be the first to allow visitors underground and will feature 11 columns paying homage to past years’ structures, plus a twelfth one that will support a floating platform roof above the auditorium, which will resemble an archaeological site.

Gleeds’ appointment as QS follows the firm’s involvement with the development of the new Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens, formally known as The Magazine, on which they are appointed as QS and contract administrator. The new gallery was designed by Zaha Hadid and is a stone’s throw from the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens.

Richard Steer, chairman of Gleeds Worldwide, said the redevelopment of the Serpentine Gallery had led to its pavilion role.

“Working with top designers who have a global reputation like Zaha Hadid and Herzog & de Meuron is both exciting, stimulating and the kind of iconic activity which we welcome,” he said.

The pavilion will be open from 1 June to 14 October.