Matthew Sweet enters the delirious world of Rem Koolhaas - one of the world's leading architects. He talks about his new design for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion - a giant bubble that will hover over Kensington Gardens in central London. He also explores the process of turning ideas into buildings and his continued faith in the 'propagandistic nature of architecture.'
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
The new pavilion in Kensington Gardens, designed by architects Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond.
Playlist
Rem Koolhaas
The curious will have discovered that the ivory coloured object that has landed in the middle of Hyde Park is made from translucent material, and is like an airship hovering just above the nearby trees.
Despite its alien appearance closer inspection reveals that it is in fact a summer pavilion, the latest in the annual series commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery in London to show off the work and ideas of the world's leading architects, in this case the Dutch visionary, Rem Koolhaas and his regular collaborator, Cecil Balmond.
As Matthew Sweet discovers when he speaks to Rem the appearance of the pavilion is only one aspect of the project - the architect is just as interested in what will happen under the pavilion's milky dome in the next few months.
The Serpentine Pavilion designed by Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond opens in Hyde Park on Thursday 13 July. It will be the focus of a series of events until 15 October. Details of these can be found by visiting the Serpentine Gallery's website.
The Fallen Idol
Later this week, Carol Reed's film, The Fallen Idol, is being re-released in a new print to mark the centenary of the director's birth.
Matthew and his guests the film historians, Jeffrey Richards and Melanie Williams, will be paying tribute to the film and assessing its claim to be one of the masterpieces of Fifties cinema.
The Fallen Idol by Carol Reed is re-released on Friday 28 July. The first screening of the new print will be at the National Film Theatre in London.
Ali Farka Toure
There'll also be a review of Savane - the last, posthumous solo CD from the King of the Desert Blues, Ali Farka Toure
Savane by Ali Farka Toure is released by World Circuit on 17 July.
T J Clarke
The art historian T J Clark will be talking about his latest book, The Sight of Death - an eloquent plea for a new way of experiencing and talking about art.
The Sight of Death by T J Clark is published by Yale University Press.
