NG200 Shortlist Announced

John Hill
8. April 2021
Clockwise from top left: Peter St John and Adam Caruso of Caruso St John © Ben Blossom; David Kohn and Jessica Lyons of David Kohn Architects © Matthew Thompson; Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects © Brigitte Lacombe; David Chipperfield © David Chipperfield Architects and Lucy Musgrave, Publica © Amandine_​Alessandra; Stephen Witherford, Chris Watson and William Mann © WWM Architects; and Asif Khan © Jérémie Souteyrat. (Image courtesy of The National Gallery/Malcolm Reading Consultants)

Today's announcement comes about two months after we learned about The National Gallery's NG200 plans, which includes reconfiguring parts of The Sainsbury Wing, designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown in 1991. The institution's search for a design partner, being done with Malcolm Reading Consultants, is focused on redefining the "visitor experience so that it lives up to the quality of its collection" and the creation of a "world-leading" research center, among other things. Work on the Sainsbury Wing is the most high-profile component of the £25 – 30 million project, in part because it is a landmark of postmodern architecture, but also because it serves as the main entry point to the institution's complex of interconnected buildings that date back to 1830.

The six shortlisted teams:

  • Asif Khan with AKT II, Atelier Ten, Bureau Veritas, Donald Insall Associates, Donald Hyslop, Gillespies, Joseph Henry, Kenya Hara, and Plan A Consultants
  • Caruso St John Architects with Arup, Alan Baxter, muf architecture/​art and Alliance CDM
  • David Chipperfield Architects with Publica, Expedition, Atelier Ten, iM2 and Plan A Consultants
  • David Kohn Architects with Max Fordham, Price & Myers, Purcell and Todd Longstaffe‐Gowan
  • Selldorf Architects with Purcell, Vogt Landscape Architects, Arup and AEA Consulting
  • Witherford Watson Mann Architects with Price and Myers, Max Fordham, Grant Associates, Purcell and David Eagle Ltd

According to The National Gallery, the shortlisted teams are being asked to submit "details of their approach to the design and delivery of the project"; they are not being asked to produce design submissions. They will then be interviewed by a selection panel made up of The National Gallery's director and numerous trustees, the director of the Princes Foundation, a structural engineer, Malcolm Reading, and architecture critic Edwin Heathcote. The winning team is expected to be announced in July 2021.

The Sainsbury Wing in 2006. (Photo: Richard George/Wikimedia Commons)

Related articles

Other articles in this category