An exploration of architecture and our surrounds

At once public forum and platform for experimentation, the annual architectural commission by London-based Serpentine Galleries sparks conversations about our relationship to architecture. This year’s Pavilion design, by Frida Escobedo, contemplates time through refractions and shadows. Drawing on both Mexican and British context and history, the structure interplays light, water and geometry to allow quiet reflection on the passage of the day. On this occasion, our literary publication, The Fabulist, further examines materiality and space. Alongside essays by Geoff Dyer, Rachel Kushner, Valeria Luiselli, and Zadie Smith, this issue features an interview with Frida Escobedo, discussing her influences and Mexican constructions. Frida Escobedo has previously collaborated with Aesop, most notably on our signature stores in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District and Chicago’s West Loop. She is currently working on a sixth Aesop store in Brooklyn, New York City.