Jamie Fobert Architects selected for historic gallery transformation

Last year, The National Portrait Gallery launched a tender seeking an architect-led team to deliver a 35.5m transformation, scheduled to start in 2020 and marking the gallery’s biggest development since the building opened in 1896. The Gallery have now announced Jamie Fobert Architects as winners of the design bid, which will create around twenty per cent more public and gallery spaces, together with an enhanced entrance and a new state-of-the-art Learning Centre.

The tender specified a need for experience with heritage developments on a similar scale, and the winning team fit the bill with recent projects including the Tate St Ives extension in Cornwall. Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, said: ‘We were impressed by Jamie’s evident love of the Gallery, its Collection and building, and the clear vision he had for how to make the most of these for our visitors, as well as his affinity with art and artists. Following his much lauded work at Tate St Ives, and forthcoming projects such as Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, this is the perfect time to work with Jamie as we take the National Portrait Gallery into one of the most exciting chapters in its history.’   

The brief’s scope included assistance with the Heritage Lottery Fund Round Two application. So far, the Gallery has secured £21.2m. With Lottery Fund support of £9.4m, which includes an initial development grant of £900,000, the Gallery aims to reach its 35.5m target by March 2019 in order to complete the project by 2022.  

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Research Specialist & Editor

This tender was first published by TenderStream on 12.10.2017. See the original brief here

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