Condron Double Pantiles create a double take at the Serpentine Pavilion 2018!

Condron Double Pantiles create a double take at the Serpentine Pavilion 2018!

Every year for the last eighteen, one of the biggest names in international architecture is commissioned to design a temporary Pavilion on the Serpentine Gallery Lawn in Kensington Gardens.

This time, rising international star Frida Escobedo, from Mexico has taken inspiration from the domestic architecture of her homeland of Mexico, mixing it with our Condron Double Pantile, manufactured by Condron Concrete Products in Tullamore Ireland, which we’ve had the pleasure of supplying.

The Double Pantile with it’s 'S'shaped profile is an elegant tile and a popular choice with Burton Roofing Customers, although this may be the first time we’ve supplied them to create sculptural walls before! However, courtyard houses and perforated "celosia" walls which provide shade from the sun and a breeze to pass through the walls are typical in Mexico and to create Escobedo’s courtyard at the Serpentine 10,500 Condron Double Pantiles have been stacked in an alternating pattern to form wavy lattice walls. A curving mirrored ceiling and a triangular standing pool of water create reflected distortions of the patterned walls of tiles in a subtle interplay of light, water and geometry.

"This is something that we usually do – we know how to work with simple materials and simple geometries but in complex ways," she said. "These concrete tiles are woven, like a tapestry, in a very specific pattern that becomes becomes transparent when the light is behind the wall."

Frida Escobedo

Modernist architecture can often feel quite brutal, but the curve of the Condron double pantiles softens the edges of the structure creating an inviting exterior. Internally the dark-coloured concrete, through which you can get little glimpses of the park, coupled with the breeze make it feel very atmospheric.

The expression of time in architecture and the temporary nature of the exhibition was another theme for the architect. Positioned on the Prime Meridian line from London’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the structure makes the most of the sun’s changing light throughout the day. Who knows where this temporary installation will go next, but one things for sure - we’d happily make room for it at any of our depots!

At Burton Roofing we know that choosing the right roof tile type is an important step in roof design. The type of the tile chosen will strongly influence the aesthetic look you achieve. So, whether you’re planning your own pavilion or a new roof in Condron roof tiles, please speak to your local depot and don’t forget we’ve 3 new depots in the South East; Kenley, Redhill and Sevenoaks.