The Warburg Institute
The Warburg Institute
The Warburg Institute is one of the world’s leading centres for studying the interaction of ideas, images and society. It is dedicated to the survival and transmission of culture across time and space, with a special emphasis on the afterlife of antiquity.
We worked with Haworth Tompkins on proposals at the rear of this 1955–58 building designed by London Underground architect’s Charles Holden firm. Titled "Warburg Renaissance", the £14.5m project will increase student and research space by 30% and includes the creation of a new structure in the former courtyard, incorporating a 140-seat lecture theatre and storage and study spaces for archives and special collections.
Although not listed, the Institute lies within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area (within which it is identified as a positive contributor) as well as within the vicinity of a number of statutorily listed buildings. By understanding the historical development of this part of Bloomsbury – a mix of early nineteenth-century terraces and twentieth-century university buildings – we were able to assess the impact of the proposals on the setting of the adjacent terraced houses, which was judged to be neutral.
Client: University College London
Architects: Haworth Tompkins
Photos: Courtesy of the architects