Serpentine Gallery Axes Plan for Grass Mountain

Serpentine Gallery Axes Plan for Grass Mountain
After a year of frustration and false starts, an attempt to build a mountain on top of the Serpentine gallery has been abandoned.

The proposal, put forward by the Dutch architect MVRDV, was hailed as the most ambitious project to date in the Serpentine's annual programme of temporary summer pavilions.

It called for a 23m-high steel frame, enclosing the gallery and covered in artificial grass, which visitors could climb to admire the views of London.

However, practical and financial problems led to the design being shelved indefinitely, and the Serpentine's director, Julia Peyton-Jones, has now admitted that it will almost certainly never happen.

"It was a bitter disappointment," she said.

"Every time we thought we'd found a solution to the scheme by reducing the costs, it then fell foul of health and safety or building regulations."

Instead, the Serpentine has commissioned another Dutch designer, Rem Koolhaas, to create its 2006 pavilion.

Koolhaas, a Pritzker-prize winner, is best known for drafting flagship Prada stores in New York and LA, and for the highly acclaimed Seattle Public Library building.

The Serpentine pavilion is his first UK project.

"I'm sure it will be something completely unexpected," said Peyton-Jones.

"He's a hero to so many people, widely referenced and discussed and