Hortus conclusus

London's Serpentine Gallery has its temporary summer pavilion every year designed by an internationally acclaimed architect who has never completed a building in England at the time of the gallery’s invitation.  The designer for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion this year is Peter Zumthor from Switzerland.  The concept for Zumthor's design is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden.  Zumthor played with the effect of light by allowing visitors to experience the dramatic contrast between light and darkness on entering this enclosed space.  The dark, solid and bland exterior gives no hints of the lush, contemplative garden oasis inside.