Practice working with Kim Wilkie on restoration and redevelopment of site’s grounds
Carmody Groarke’s plans for a redevelopment of the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s site and gardens have been given the go ahead.
The practice has collaborated with artist Kim Wilkie on the scheme, the gallery’s most significant in 20 years.
It will see a series of enhancements across the site including a new timber pavilion for children and families, a restoration of the gallery’s grade II-listed cottage building and a new meadow landscape.
The charitable trust’s grade II*-listed main building, designed by Regency architect John Soane, first opened in 1817 and is England’s oldest public art gallery.
It houses one of the UK’s most significant collections of works by Old Masters, including paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Canaletto, Raphael and Hogarth.
The consented proposals aim to expand the gallery’s audience by using the gardens to display art and host creative art projects.
The pavilion has been designed on a cruciform plan with circular windows.The cottage will be extended to provide space for school lunches, a shop and a cafe.
The landscape plan for the gardens, which has been funded by the Lovington Foundation, will feature an “art forest” around 150 new trees and temporary sculpture installations.
Jennifer Scott, director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, said: “The vision for Open Art is grounded in the principles of innovation and inclusion which have defined the Gallery since we first opened to the public in 1817.
“This exciting project will transform our green spaces into London’s only gallery-based sculpture garden, providing new creative experiences for everyone, and inspiring the artists of the future.”
The project team also includes project manager and QS Simon Bristow Associates, structural engineer Structure Workshop, services engineer Webb Yates and planning and heritage consultant Savills.
Construction is set to start this winter and complete by early 2025, with the gallery remaining open throughout.
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