The Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art - ‘Courtauld Connects’
We have been working closely with The Courtauld since 2017 on an ongoing series of refurbishment and redevelopment proposals to their property within Somerset House’s Strand Block – a Grade I building completed in 1780 by Sir William Chambers and one of the largest and most accomplished Palladian buildings in England.
We first produced a Conservation Management Plan and Heritage Report that analysed the condition and suitability of the Institute’s historic property, before consulting on the £36.2m phase 1 of the ‘Courtauld Connects’ project. This is the biggest programme of development in the Institute’s history which involves an ambitious five-year capital project that will transform the Institute’s 5,800m2 home to enable wider audiences to engage with their scholarship and collections.
Our role has included managing the changes to the listed building through continual dialogue with Westminster City Council and Historic England, and the production of successive heritage reports needed for planning applications as the scheme evolved. The project involved consulting on the reorganisation of the building’s fine rooms to provide level access to the upper floors, all within the envelope of the highly ornate eighteenth-century rooms and service areas that support them. We also produced an archaeological Written Scheme of Investigation and carried out photographic recording before supporting the contractual and design teams through implementation of the works. Our ongoing involvement continued into the delivery stage, including advising on alterations and interventions to fabric ranging from appropriate placement of scaffolding fixings to more fundamental issues such as alterations to décor and furnishings.
Upon completion in November 2021, The Courtauld Gallery reopened following the most significant modernisation project in its history, providing a transformed home for one of the UK’s greatest art collections.
Items from the collection have been completely redisplayed and reinterpreted across refurbished galleries, with new spaces created for The Courtauld’s acclaimed temporary exhibitions as well as for projects which highlight the institution’s research-led educational mission.
Designed by Stirling Prize-winning architects Witherford Watson Mann with gallery design by Nissen Richards Studio, the redevelopment revitalises and opens up the building conceived by Sir William Chambers in the 1770s to create an inspiring setting for the 21st Century. The project has been supported by £11 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, £10 million from philanthropists Sir Leonard and Lady Blavatnik, and the Blavatnik Family Foundation, and generous donations from foundations, individuals and other supporters.
The project was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2023.
Architects: Witherford Watson Mann and Nissen Richards Studio
Client: The Courtauld Institute
Photos: Courtesy of the client
Awards
RIBA Stirling Prize 2023 - Shortlisted
"These interventions have been seamlessly integrated in most parts of the building so as not to detract from the built heritage. The jury thought this was an extremely well-judged project, which lets the spirit of the historic building lead the visitor experience, but with some 21st-century creativity to solve some of its inherent complexities."
- RIBA Awards judges, June 2023. (Read here)
"Like most of the finest work in historic buildings, this is one of those projects where a huge amount of intellectual engagement, design, physical work and skilled craft has created an overall impression that not much has changed. But it has."
- Edwin Heathcote writing in The Financial Times, November 2021. (Read here)
"The transformation of the Courtauld Gallery in its home at Somerset House, London is the first part of a multi-phase project that aims to open up the institution both physically and culturally.
"The three main moves that transform the gallery are the insertion of a lift, the reworking of the entrance sequence, including a beautiful new stair down to the basement visitor facilities, and relevelling and opening up the vaults below the entrance to provide a flowing, level space.
- RIBA Stirling Prize judges, September 2023. (Read here)