Clore Learning Centre at Hampton Court Palace

 

Clore Learning Centre at Hampton Court Palace

When completed in 2006, the Clore Learning Centre was a new resource for Hampton Court Palace to provide education facilities for visitors to the Palace and was the most significant building to be built at Hampton Court for more than 150 years.

Working with architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the £1.8m scheme comprised a new single-storey reception building and the refurbishment of the 17th century Barrack Block and presented a rare opportunity to integrate a new building within a highly significant historic landscape.

As the Palace is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, the development of the scheme required continuous and careful dialogue with English Heritage. The project demanded a thorough understanding of the historic site with a particularly sensitive approach to the design of this major new building which was funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation.

The new single-storey steel-framed building provides teaching and exhibition facilities to help visitor groups interpret the history of Hampton Court Palace. The Learning Centre is oriented to create a new external courtyard and two tall roof ventilation stacks provide contemporary references to Hampton Court’s iconic chimneys. Use of traditional handmade bricks and roof tiles further place the building within its context. The project won a Low Carbon Performance Award in 2007.

Client: Historic Royal Palaces
Architects: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Photo: Courtesy of the architect