April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Olafur Eliasson, the artist known for decking Tate Modern's entrance hall with a blazing sun in 2003, is to put up a giant snail-shaped pavilion in London's Hyde Park.

The timber-sheathed structure, which also resembles a spinning top, will be this year's temporary pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery from July to October. Eliasson today revealed the plans he drew up with architect Kjetil Thorsen.

Visitors will be able to go up two levels on a spiraling ramp and peer down at a central arena in the pavilion.

Eliasson told reporters in a presentation that they should focus not just on a ``snapshot'' of the outer facade, but on the human interaction going on inside.

``This is not about decoration. This is not about fun. It's about societies and living together,'' the Danish-Icelandic Eliasson said.

The panel included Norwegian architect Thorsen, whose studio, Snohetta, designed the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt. The Serpentine's director and co-director, Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, were also on the panel.

This year's surrounding program of events will include ``Park Nights'' every Friday in which artists, architects, academics and scientists will gather to ``create an environment of experimentation and invention.'' The program will end with a 48-hour marathon ``exploring the architecture of the senses.''

Six Months

Every year since 2000, the Serpentine Gallery puts up a temporary summer pavilion that is designed in six months, has no startup budget, and requires the same planning permissions that a permanent building would. At the end of the period, the pavilion is dismantled.

This year marks the first time the pavilion is designed by an artist-and-architect team. Previous designers have been architects, starting with Zaha Hadid in 2000 and leading up to Rem Koolhaas and his inflatable bubble-topped pavilion in 2006.

The pavilion is sponsored by Bovis Lend Lease and Hare Structural Engineers among other companies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Farah Nayeri in London at farahn@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 25, 2007 10:00 EDT