Sackler Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts

The commission for the Sackler Galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts provided the practice with its first opportunity to work within a historical building. Although perceived by the visitor as a single entity, the Royal Academy actually consists of two buildings: the original Palladian house, converted by Lord Burlington in the eighteenth century, and a subsequent Victorian gallery behind, linked by a grand central staircase. The project brief required the replacement of the undistinguished nineteenth-century Diploma Galleries at the top of Burlington House and the improvement of access routes through the building.

The project demonstrates how contemporary interventions can enhance the old by relying on the sensitive juxtaposition rather than historical pastiche. The key to unlocking the design solution was the rediscovery of the lightwell between Burlington House and the Victorian extension, into which a new lift and staircase were inserted. In the process redundant historical accretions were peeled away, revealing the garden facade of Burlington House for the first time in over a century. Cleaned and repaired, this elevation contrasts strikingly with the Victorian structure and the free-standing new insertions. The new work is demonstratively of its own time, using modern materials for modern ends, but it also enables a rediscovery of the potential of Burlington House and the Victorian galleries, much of which had become inaccessible over time.

In addition to this historical reclamation, the Sackler Galleries achieved new environmental standards, allowing the Academy to meet the exacting criteria set by international exhibitions. These include a glazed reception area incorporating the parapet of the Victorian galleries. Sculpture from the Academys permanent collection is displayed along this simultaneously modern and antique route, most notably Michelangelo's tondo of the Virgin and Child with the Infant St John, powerfully revealing a contrast between old and new. The Royal Academy was the first in a line of projects demonstrating a clear philosophy about contemporary interventions in historical structures, which continued with the Reichstag in Berlin and the Great Court at the British Museum.

Client: Royal Academy of Arts
Consultants: YRM Anthony Hunt Associates Nick Green Albert Will, Davis Langdon and Everest, James R Briggs Associates, George Sexton Associates