AECOM delivers on architect’s vision for 2026 Serpentine Pavilion

Serpentine Pavilion 2026 a serpentine, designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo, LANZA atelier. Exterior view © LANZA atelier, Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy Serpentine.

This year marks the 25^th edition for one of the UK's leading architectural programmes.

LONDON (June 3, 2026) - AECOM, the trusted global infrastructure leader, has completed the delivery of the Serpentine Pavilion project for a 13th consecutive year as the scheme's technical advisor.

Established in 2000, the Serpentine Pavilion is one of the UK's leading architectural programmes, challenging renowned international architects to create a temporary structure at the Serpentine within London's Kensington Gardens.

This year's Serpentine Pavilion is designed by Mexican architecture studio LANZA atelier, who took its inspiration from the architecture feature known as a serpentine or crinkle-crankle wall which forms one side of the pavilion. Thematically, the creation is inspired by the figure of the serpent as a generative and protective force.

AECOM provided multidisciplinary engineering and technical advisory services for the structure, collaborating closely with the architect, the Serpentine and specialist contractor Stage One to realise the distinct design vision. Central to the structure's design is legacy beyond its first life and creating a structure that is fully demountable. While traditionally brick walls are fully bonded with mortar beds, a focus on waste reduction during the demount and rebuild, meant a slender steel subframe was incorporated inside the wall and a prestress applied along the top edge of the wall via threaded bars. This composite arrangement ensures that the walls and columns can support the weight of the roof, and controls the deflection and dynamic excitability of the walls.

While commonly found in Suffolk, brick walls, composed of alternating curves, originate in ancient Egypt. A specific challenge for the structure was the variation of brick sizes. With no traditional mortar beds to absorb any construction tolerances, AECOM adopted a combination of soft joints, wedges and shims to ensure the prestressing was sufficiently uniform to stabilise the walls and avoid localised damage to the bricks.

Serpentine Pavilion 2026 a serpentine, designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo, LANZA atelier. Interior view © LANZA atelier, Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy Serpentine.

"We are incredibly proud to have delivered LANZA atelier's architectural vision for the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion," said Jon Leach, director, AECOM. "Through a combination of engineering experience and experimentation we have designed a masonry structure that is true to concept while also fully demountable, ensuring the pavilion has a sustainable legacy beyond its first life.

"Full-scale testing to calibrate our computational models was key to determining the benefits of the prestressing and composite action, along with understanding the impact of the inconsistency and tolerances of the masonry unit sizes. The result is a hybrid prestressed masonry solution that gains significant benefit from the wall's curved geometry and the use of piers as a traditionally bonded wall would, but which allows the wall to be fully demountable.

"A particular highlight of our contribution was embedding our young and graduate engineers into the scheme, giving them valuable experience in working alongside the architect and contractor for the whole life of the project, with a freedom and focus to deliver a piece of art that can be easily relocated in the future."

The Pavilion serves as a public and artistic platform for Serpentine's experimental, interdisciplinary, community and education programmes, which run annually from June to October. The 2026 Pavilion opens to the public on 6 June.

Serpentine Pavilion 2026 a serpentine, designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo, LANZA atelier. Exterior view © LANZA atelier, Photo Iwan Baan, Courtesy Serpentine.

About AECOM

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients' complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle - from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. Learn more at aecom.com.