AR Interview: Julia Peyton-Jones on Serpentine pavilions and London's skyline

One of the elements of the pavilion which is particularly notable is that the function is very very simple. It is a structure in which people come really from the time the park is open and in some of that's from 5 o'clock 5 30 in the morning through to 12 o'clock at night so it's it's an it's a hugely well-used structure from the joggers in the morning people who come in hang out and have lunch and tea and coffee and then in the evening it's used as a forum for debates educational events or entertainment so it's really really really very well used but they are asked to do something which is about their architectural language and really that's it you know they're not asked to to conceive of really almost any practical use not all the roofs are entirely robust it's must be said so there is a tremendous amount of freedom but we also push them quite hard to do something exemplary because I never believe that scale is a limiting factor and so we support them in every way that we can to achieve not only their vision but the vision of doing something really extraordinary and I believe that we've been extraordinarily lucky with the architects that we have worked with not only have they been exceptionally generous but they've also done some wonderful pavilions. London is such an incredibly exciting city but it's very very large and in that sense completely unmanageable as the the boroughs get more prosperous and the cost of housing not only housing cost of all property goes up then people are driven further and further away from the centre and it kind of gets out of proportion to a nucleus of energy and activity the idea is that dispersion and whilst dispersion is not a bad thing per se I think there's something about losing the heart the intent the energy and the vigour which is unfortunate. Another very significant issue is social demographics the change which has been so enormous a revolution without bloodshed an entirely positive thing but we also have the the challenge of immigration facing us and one that as a country we need to really address and address well and address with foresight with with intelligence and with very very careful planning so I think possibly out of everything I would put that first then as an opportunity there should be a rule that only great buildings can be commissioned great meaning only buildings of vision and good design because really that then transforms a city from something really quite workaday into something great and if you take a city like Paris for example who have kept the centre really very intact we in this city have not decided to do that and I can for the very best of reasons but it has allowed an uncertain skyline to crop up and I think that does not speak well of London or the people that govern London and indeed for those people who can contribute to shaping London in a way that really respects the city and what it is capable of.