Royal Academy of Arts - 6 Burlington Gardens
Royal Academy of Arts - 6 Burlington Gardens
Since 1867, The Royal Academy of Arts has resided in Burlington House, a Grade II* listed building on Picadilly, London. The building has evolved over time, since it began as a “town palace” in the 1660’s, undergoing many developments from its successive owners including the government who purchased Burlington House and the formal gardens in 1854 to serve as a home for educational societies. Since then, a number of important architects including, Sydney Smirke and Norman Shaw, have designed additional developments to Burlington House including gallery spaces, a cast corridor and various extensions.
In 2001, the RA acquired the Grade II* listed building to the north of Burlington house, called 6 Burlington Gardens. This building, designed by James Pennethorne, was constructed in the late 1860’s as the University of London’s headquarters.
We were the lead structural engineers for the RA250 Masterplan project, which involved David Chipperfield Architects’ scheme to unite the Royal Academy’s two buildings on Piccadilly and Burlington Gardens, and to refurbish 6 Burlington Gardens. Completed in 2018 to coincide with the RA’s 250th anniversary, the scheme set out firstly to link the two buildings together as a single complex.
This was principally achieved with the construction of a new, exposed reinforced concrete bridge and the opening up of previously back of house areas in the basement of Burlington House. We worked closely with David Chipperfield Architects to realise their ambition for a cast in-situ, high quality, fair-faced concrete finish on both internal and external faces. The result is a sculptural object that is sensitively integrated into the surrounding Grade II* listed fabric. The Weston Bridge now forms a new public link between Burlington House and 6 Burlington Gardens, to unite, for the first time, the Royal Academy’s two sites.
Within 6 Burlington Gardens, a lecture theatre was reintroduced (the original 1860s’ lecture theatre was removed in 1919), two new extensions were added to the rear, additional accommodation and plant space was provided, and much needed improvements were made to the circulation between floors.
The £36m project involved £12.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and won an RIBA National Award, a RIBA London Conservation Award, and an AJ Retrofit Award in 2019.
Client: Royal Academy
Architect: David Chipperfield Architects