Oare Pavilion
Oare (Wiltshire)
Sources checked November 2026
- Year
- 2003
- Architect
- I. M. Pei
- Type
- Garden pavilion in a private park
- Access
- Pavilion on a private estate, in the grounds of Oare House (November 2026)
Oare Pavilion is a garden pavilion designed by I. M. Pei for Henry Keswick, in the grounds of Oare House in Wiltshire. Completed in 2003, it rests on an exposed concrete base and carries a roof whose structure of steel pipes and glass is left visible. Pei designed no other building in the United Kingdom.
A private, lived-in home: it is not open to visitors. It is placed without an address, from a public source, at neighbourhood or city level.
History
Oare House, a Grade I listed house, stands at Oare, between Pewsey and Marlborough. To the west of its gardens, at the end of the western lime avenue, stands the pavilion that I. M. Pei designed for Henry Keswick. It was completed in 2003.
When it went up, some local people and ramblers were uneasy about so avant-garde a building standing out against the Marlborough Downs; it has since come to be accepted and praised. DRA Architects acted as executive architects: they obtained planning and building-regulations approval, then ran the works on site.
Architecture
The pavilion has three storeys and a floor area of 270 m². Its concrete base is left exposed, as is the structure of its roof, made of steel pipes and glass. It is a folly, set in the parkland just outside the historic listed gardens; some liken it to a pagoda. Its plan is octagonal.
Use today
It is an entertainment pavilion next to a private residence.
Visiting
The pavilion is on a private estate.
Oare (Wiltshire)
Greenhouses nearby
Architecture nearby
A private, lived-in home: it is not open to visitors. It is placed without an address, from a public source, at neighbourhood or city level.