Step inside a bright and colourful world of fun at the brand new LEGO Play Pavilion at the Serpentine, London.
Located beside the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, this brand new installation is all about exploring, playing, and getting creative with the world’s most famous toy bricks. This interactive pavilion is the ideal starting point for exploring the capital’s biggest green space; Kensington Gardens sits next-door to Hyde Park.
What is the LEGO Play Pavilion at the Serpentine?
The Play Pavilion, designed by Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab), in collaboration with Serpentine and the LEGO Group. © Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab). Courtesy Serpentine
Arriving just in time for the school holidays, the Play Pavilion is a delightful new interactive installation situated in Kensington Gardens. Created by the LEGO Group, this exciting new structure is bright and bold, covered in millions of the famous bricks, and a great place for kids to get hands-on with imaginative fun.
This public art project opened on 11th June (World Play Day) and is a collaboration between the iconic Danish toy brand and British architect Peter Cook, who aim to showcase the power and importance of play. Incorporating LEGO bricks into the design, the Play Pavilion is an immersive environment where visitors can explore art in three dimension.
Two entrances on the outside of the vibrant orange structure lead inside it, where a trio of large multi-coloured columns built from LEGO rise towards the ceiling. Movable yellow furniture fills the space and there are large storage boxes filled with LEGO blocks around its edge. On the walls you’ll find LEGO boards where kids can get creative designing their own images with stick-on bricks.
Who is the Pavilion for?
The Play Pavilion, designed by Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab), in collaboration with Serpentine and the LEGO Group. © Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab). Courtesy Serpentine
Anyone who loves playing with LEGO. One of the most recognisable of all toys, these tiny bricks have a universal appeal for both young children and adults. When a pile of bricks is put in front of you, it’s impossible to resist the urge to create something – even if it resembles nothing you’ve ever seen before! There are no age restrictions at the LEGO Play Pavilion, so it’s a great place for all the family; age is no barrier here.
Recent research from LEGO reveals that one in three children feel overlooked by urban designed, and that seven out of 10 parents feel their city doesn’t offer adequately safe and accessible play spaces. With this in mind, the LEGO Play Pavilion was designed by Cook as a space to appeal to a wide audience alongside this year’s Serpentine Pavilion 2025 by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, which opened around the same time.
The Highlights
While you can just pop along to brick build by yourself, there are also a number of free, pre-bookable, hands-on workshops with music curated by NTS Radio. From building challenges and fashion labs to nature walks and sports days, the Play Pavilion offers over nine weeks of dynamic creative sessions for children. These include an Abstract Art Class, where LEGO bricks meet brushstrokes for expressive, abstract creativity; Play in Nature, offering guided walks and LEGO brick builds with Flock Together, blending ecology, imagination and play; and Nike x LEGO BrickSwoosh Workshops, a series of workshops remixing football culture and streetwear creativity with LEGO bricks. The whole programme is based on the brand’s belief that ‘play unlocks limitless human potential’ and each element of it aims to facilitate creative play, self expression and learning.
What Else is There to do?
Summer in Hyde Park
The Play Pavilion is located next to the Serpentine Lake in Kensington Gardens, which itself feels like an extension of Hyde Park. This means that a trip to check out the Pavilion can also make for an excellent opportunity to explore all the wonderful family friendly activities that London’s largest green space has to offer. If the sun is shining, take kids for a dip in the Serpentine Lido which is open for public swimming every day between June and mid-September. One of the city’s most iconic ‘open water’ swimming spots, it welcomes children at allocated times, but note that under-16s need to be supervised by an adult, and for very young children that’s on a one-to-one basis. Timings and information is listed on the website, as well as the option to book.
If you’d rather be on the water than in it, hire one of the lake’s pedalos or row boats instead, for a different view of the park. It’s one of the few venues in the UK (and the only lake in London) that offers electric pedalos, combining the charm of traditional pedalos with the ease of electric assistance – easier if you are attempting it with little ones. There’s a great child-friendly café right next door to the lake too, or pack a picnic and relax under a tree while little ones run around on the huge expanse of grass.
Last, but definitely not least, be sure to visit the wonderful Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. Truly one of the best playgrounds in the capital, it offers hours of fun for kids thanks to a giant wooden pirate ship inspired by the stories of Peter Pan, teepees, and various other play structures that encourage youngsters to let their imagination run wild. It’s free to enter but can get pretty busy on sunny days in the school holidays.
Anything else to know?
You can bring your buggy, there are baby changing facilities on-site, and if you need any help the visitor experience team are on hand.
Lead image credit: The Play Pavilion. Courtesy Serpentine
We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
Any Questions or Tips to add?