This week, for something a little different before the August break, I’m going to show you four summer houses. All very different, all very fabulous, all can be yours for £95,000. Which might seem a tad pricey for a posh shed at the bottom of the garden, but, as you can see, these are not your average summer house.
They are, in fact, four unique structures designed for the Serpentine Gallery as part of their summer architectural commission. They will be on display until 9 October at which point they will be dismantled and delivered to whoever has bought them.
Every summer since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery invites an internationally renowned architect to create their first built structure in England. This annual Pavilion, which, in previous years, has included buildings by Zaha Zadid, Rem Koolhas, Frank Gehry and Oscar Niemeyer, was designed by Bjarke Ingels this year.
In 2016, for the first time, the invitation was widened and four architects were asked to create a summer house to accompany the main pavilion. These follies, said the Serpentine, were to be inspired by an 18th century Neoclassical summerhouse, known as the Queen Caroline’s Temple, in Kensington Gardens.
The resulting buildings were created by the British architect Asif Khan, the Parisian-based Yona Friedman, Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi and the Berlin studio Barkow Leibinger.
They are all for sale via The Modern House, where you can find out more about the architects. Now, the question is how are we going to decorate these inside? Answers in the comment box below. And don’t forget to tell us which is your favourite. Mine is the Berlin one. I just love all those curves. But, are we buying architecture or are we buying art?
Mmm… they all look a little draughty to me. But that second one would make a fantastic light shade.