Glass 'street' graces royal park

Glass canopies will provide protection from the weather

A timber and glass walkway is to be built in London's Hyde Park.

The temporary structure has been designed by Frank Gehry, the architect of the titanium-clad curved walls at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain.

The "urban street" will provide a covered walkway leading from the park to the Serpentine Gallery.

It is the ninth in a series of summer buildings commissioned by the gallery to design a structure that serves as a venue for a cafe and events.

Live events

A pavilion will also be created with glass canopies hanging from a wooden structure to protect the interior from wind and rain and provide shade from the sun.

It will be the first time the Canadian-born architect has had a structure built in England.

Gehry said: "The pavilion is much like an amphitheatre, designed to serve as a place for live events, music, performance, discussion and debate."

The architect has designed terraced seating on either side of the structure and five elevated seating pods, which can be used as stages, private viewing platforms and dining areas.

It will open in July and close in October.

The tradition of commissioning an architect to create a pavilion every year began in 2000.

It has featured the work of British architect Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and designers Rem Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond.