Well, actually, rainwater management is not behind Serpentine Pavilion but beneath it. Many individuals who have marvelled at the spectacular effects at the magnificent 2017 Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens have wondered whether this is not a waste of potable water, but rest assured, it is not.

Sustainable drainage market-leader SDS provides the management of the underground rainwater solution, allowing the dramatic rainwater cascade that is the central feature of this year’s design to flow from the Pavilion’s arching tree-like roof canopy.

The award-winning design for 2017, which opened on 23 June, was designed by award-winning Burkina Faso architect Diébédo Francis Kéré.

Rainwater is designed to run off the Pavilion’s expansive roof into an open central courtyard during peak summer storms; an underground attenuation solution using GEOlight® geocellular storage from SDS and designed by the engineering project team from AECOM, who has provided technical advisory services for the Serpentine Pavilion project for the past five years.

“This is the first time in recent years that a positive drainage design has been required for the Pavilion, as this time rainwater is part of the architectural concept and is featured by being directed into the centre of the structure,” explained Principal Engineer, Michael Orr.

The roof canopy from which the water cascades is supported by a central steel framework and covered with a transparent twin-wall polycarbonate skin, and the between 5° and 9° roof pitch ensures that rainwater is transported quickly through a funnel then dropped into the centre of the courtyard. From there it is conveyed to the GEOlight® storage tank below ground.

The underground storage is designed to hold back up to 6,000 litres of water, sufficient to protect against a 1 in 100 year rainfall event. Water is then gravity-fed slowly away via two surface water pipes to an existing soakaway.

The clay ground conditions necessitated the design of the central attenuation tank to capture rainwater and take it away from the foundations, allowing it to infiltrate slowly into the park’s existing soakaway system.

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