National Gallery selects Selldorf Architects for Sainsbury Wing project
Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects, the practice selected to lead the upgrade of the National Gallery’s Grade I-listed Sainsbury Wing (image: Selldorf Architects).
London’s National Gallery has announced that a team led by Selldorf Architects has won the contest to upgrade the gallery’s Grade I-listed Sainsbury Wing.
The contest was hosted to find a multidisciplinary design team to “vastly improve the welcome experience” at the gallery. The £25-30m NG200 project will see upgrades to the Sainsbury Wing’s front gates, ground-floor entrance sequence, lobby and first-floor spaces; create a research centre; and deliver a series of public realm upgrades.
Working with Purcell and Vogt Landscape Architects, Selldorf Architects were selected over Asif Khan with AKT II, Caruso St John with muf architecture/art, David Chipperfield Architects, David Kohn Architects and Witherford Watson Mann Architects.
The Sainsbury Wing was completed by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Associates in 1991, after the original design by ABK was abandoned as a result of Prince Charles dismissing it as a “monstrous carbuncle”.
Commenting on the appointment of Selldorf Architects, Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, said: “We are delighted to appoint Selldorf Architects as the design-team partner for NG200. Throughout the selection process, Selldorf Architects demonstrated a real understanding of our ambitions as well as sensitivity to the heritage of our existing buildings. However, the talent and tenacity demonstrated at all levels by each of the six shortlisted teams was remarkable. I would like to thank all those involved, particularly the judging panel who have guided us through the selection process.”
Annabelle Selldorf, founding principal of Selldorf Architects, added: “It is an honour to be appointed to work alongside the National Gallery on its NG200 project. This is a significant opportunity for an iconic cultural institution to reflect on its ambitions for the future and drive forwards an innovative, bespoke brief that befits its many visitors. The National Gallery is home to one of the most exceptional collections of art in the world and has often led the way for other institutions globally.”
Interviewed by Architects’ Journal about the commission, Selldorf said: “Our work is quietly resonant. It is not an architecture, first and foremost, of a loud bang. I’d rather do less than more. I’m interested in the transformation that architecture can produce. It is not about the first impression, it is about that lasting ‘thing’ that we’ve probably all experienced in a variety of different circumstances. Fundamentally I’m a modern architect. That’s the language I use. My deepest conviction is that architecture is in the service of people. Therefore what we do has to make things better.”
Story source: Architects’ Journal