National Gallery picks Tokyo Olympic stadium architect to design new wing | National Gallery
The National Gallery has announced that the biggest and most significant transformation in its 200-year history will be designed by the Japanese architect behind the Tokyo Olympic stadium.
The new wing will be designed by Kengo Kuma as part of Project Domani, the gallery’s expansion into 20th and 21st century art. Its completion will make the National Gallery the only museum in the world displaying only paintings, where visitors can view the entire history of painting in the western tradition.
The gallery traditionally does not collect many paintings made after 1900 due to an agreement with the Tate, and the Tate collects only modern art. Industry insiders have previously said breaking up the deal could create “bad blood” and create a situation where the two galleries are “at each other’s throats”.
The National Gallery has launched an international architectural competition for its new wing and said a total of 65 applications were received, with six architects shortlisted to take part in the design competition.
In addition to BDP and MICA, the panel of judges also found Kengo Kuma and Associates’ design submission “exemplary” and gave it the highest score possible. They beat the workouts led by Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Farshid Moussavi and Annabelle Selldorf.
John Booth, trustee and chairman of the National Gallery’s jury, said Kuma had created “a beautiful design, inside and out, that is sensitive to our existing Grade I exteriors and distinct gallery spaces”. He said the new building would also “help connect Leicester and Trafalgar Squares, two of London’s most important outdoor spaces, creating attractive new public spaces.”
Kuma, 71, also designed the V&A Dundee, which opened in 2018. This month’s topic of discussion when his idea for a new loggia for a 1,000-year-old cathedral in western France was described as “warts” by critics. The 5.5 million euro construction site in Angers will open on Thursday.
The new wing of the National Gallery will be built on land that the gallery bought 30 years ago, which includes a hotel and office complex. It is part of a £750 million campaign that the organization says will redefine it for the next century.
The gallery has already raised £375 million for Project Domani; This includes the two largest cash donations ever publicly announced to a museum or gallery worldwide.
Crankstart, the charitable foundation of Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman, and the Julia Rausing Trust have donated £150 million. A further £75 million was contributed by the National Gallery Trust, Booth and other anonymous donors.
The money will be used to purchase post-1900 artwork and provide an endowment fund. But the gallery faces an £8.2 million deficit that will lead to job losses and potentially fewer exhibitions, higher ticket prices and reduced borrowing of international works of art.
The National Gallery’s original choice for what is now the Sainsbury Wing in 1982 was canceled after the then Prince Charles condemned it as “a monstrous boil on the face of a much-loved and gracious friend”.
On Tuesday, the judges said of Kuma’s new wing: “The design is both innovative and beautiful, meeting the passion and sensitivity required of an international gallery commission. It is respectful of the Sainsbury Wing galleries… and the approach to public space and the roof garden creates a generous presence enhanced by trees and greenery.”
