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In the middle of a small field of lush green grass, with the La Brea Tar Pits Museum towering not far behind it, lies what looks like an iridescent melted rainbow. The glistening Second Home Serpentine Pavilion has been drawing large crowds of picture-ready families, couples, and friends since June 28. 

The tunnel-like entrance to the architectural pavilion draws visitors in with its exuberant colors and odd form. Lucia Cano and Jose Selgas, a married architect duo who designed the installation, are “ardent environmentalists,” according to Architectural Digest. Selgascano, the name of the duo’s firm, very successfully carried out creating an organically flowing piece. 

Selgascano was established in 1998 in Spain and have worked on a multitude of projects throughout Europe. Selgascano focuses on creating pieces that are organic and remind the viewer of the oddities of nature, by avoiding straight lines and dull presentation.

“Color was one of the tools we used in this pavilion, while working with a big pallet, different feelings and depending on the place where you are is a different treatment with different colors,” said Selgas in an interview with Dezeen.  

The structure is made with steel rods bent into odd, yet flowing forms, which provided a main room and a couple walkways around the edges, giving it a slight maze-like feel. Lustrous fluorine-based plastic stretched over the metal rods and the plastic offered every color a person could think of while it illuminated the white floor of the pavilion. 

Accompanying the plastic was lots of rainbow colored ribbons that were set up in a vortex shape in the center of the room, put along the walls, and draped on the ceiling like a graceful canopy. They added a soft and playful contrast to the plastic and provided even more color (and photo-ops) for visitors to marvel over.

Heat, however, made the experience a bit less enjoyable than what all the instagram posts portrayed. The structure is essentially a beautiful bubble of plastic, therefore being inside of it felt like an oven. There was one tiny fan in the corner next to an information table, but it wasn’t enough to cool anyone off significantly. The quest to post cute pictures may have been deteriorated from sweat and overheating, for some. The structure itself doesn’t offer much more than a unique photo-op and there was no interactive portion to keep visitors entertained past taking selfies. 

Second Home, the organization that coordinated and collaborated with the Selgascano installation, will be arranging a variety of events at the pavilion later this fall. From speakers to performing artists, guests can obtain tickets and enjoy more than just the pretty view. 

“Second home is a co-working space, it’s a london based company and this will be our first U.S. location,” said Sydney Fujioka, the Second Home receptionist who sat at the entrance of the pavilion and greeted guests. 

Fujioka explained how most events are free and open to the public and more are planned ahead for the upcoming weekends in October and all the way until Nov. 24. There are also opportunities for people to throw their own creative private events. 

According to their home website, Second Home is an organization that aims to “support job creation by nurturing entrepreneurship and creativity in cities around the world.” Their coordination with Selgascano has brought a bright shining orb of creativity to Los Angeles, to draw in admirers and artists alike. While it is definitely fun to drop in for a quick photo op, the events held there will make it a worthwhile experience.

 

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