Beacon of design or bit of a ship

Even without the benefit of the sun, Daniel Libeskind's shining aluminium pavilion that now stands in front of the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens hits the eyes hard.

Installed last week for the latest in an ongoing series of architectural commissions by the Serpentine, it will be sited on the gallery's lawn throughout the summer.

From whatever direction you approach, you can't miss the characteristically jagged lines and odd angles of his structure glinting through the trees.

It is stopping passers-by in their tracks. They feel compelled to inspect it more closely and enquire what it is for. Not everyone, of course. There are always those with other things on their mind.

But among those who did stop to look, opinion was distinctly favourable. No one was more enthusiastic than 11-year-old Linus Gruszewski and his seven-year-old brother Nestor, from Notting Hill.

"I love it," said Linus. "We have been watching it being built as we come back from school but this is the first time we have seen it complete. It's really cool."

French jogger Stephane, 32, who is here to study English, was equally impressed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he enthused. "I like it."

So too did 70-year-old Gladys Washington and June Lee, 68, from Wimbledon. "It's like a spacecraft," said Gladys. "It's certainly good to look at."

They were less certain as to its purpose. "Is it something to do with a pop group?" wondered June, seeing the wooden floor inside, which could serve as a stage, and the lights above it.

She was more or less right. It will be used as a performance space for a series of BBC Proms poetry readings, but it will also serve as a cafe and as a venue for a series of debates on urban design.