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Denise Scott Brown says she's not pleased with Selldorf Architects' Sainsbury Wing redesign

2022-11-28T15:19:00-05:00

A considerable row has sprung up concerning Selldorf Architects' controversial revamp of the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing after one of its original co-designers, Denise Scott Brown, made comments over the weekend indicating a disagreement and lack of support for the currently under-review proposal.

"She’s making our building look like a circus clown," Scott Brown told The Guardian's James Tapper without elaborating on which specific elements the already widely-opposed plans she has an issue with. "There are elements of tragedy – circus clowns are made up to look happy, but they’re not. This is a circus clown wearing a tutu."

Selldorf had previously mentioned in an April New York Times preview of her MOCA San Diego makeover and in another Architects Journal update from August that she had spoken with Scott Brown about both projects. During our coverage of the Sainsbury Wing in October, Seldorf said, "she has been counseled by the wing's original co-architect Denise Scott Brown ...

Selldorf unveils revised Sainsbury Wing plan in response to critical backlash

2022-10-21T09:00:00-04:00

Selldorf Architects has released a revised plan for the controversial overhaul of the Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery following a torrent of criticism that has grown online after their initial designs were unveiled this summer.

The Architects’ Journal is reporting on the revisions, which appear to have entailed the retention of certain ground floor elements in the lobby and changes to the originally proposed placement of existing structural columns, as well as to the materials used in the balustrade and lobby walls.

Image courtesy Selldorf Architects

"I don't think of these changes as a compromise. I see them as a welcome development," Annabelle Selldorf told AJ. "In the resubmitted plans, much more of the existing fabric will remain, creating a clearer dialogue with the original building. And yet the original goals remain intact."

Image courtesy Selldorf Architects

"I took from this reaction hat people truly care about the building. And when when you perceive that, you ha...

Selldorf Architects reveals first round of designs for National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing redevelopment

2022-02-18T17:38:00-05:00

An important update has been issued to one of the most-watched cultural projects in the UK this afternoon after Selldorf Architects released their initial plans for the redesigned Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery of Art in London.

The firm was tapped in July to lead a multidisciplinary design team that includes Purcell, Vogt Landscape, and Arup.

A proposed loop connection of the Sainsbury Wing. Image courtesy Selldorf Architects.

As part of a public consultation phase that was unveiled today, the firm put forth its NG200 proposal for the overhauled award-winning Venturi, Scott Brown building, which is meant to increase accessibility in advance of the museum’s upcoming bicentenary celebration.

The initial batch of renderings appears to show a more opened-up foyer that welcomes visitors from a revamped entrance and newly-created public realm leading into Trafalgar Square. Improved lighting and wayfinding are to be emphasized throughout, including a new walking path meant to conn...

The National Gallery has tapped Selldorf Architects for its bicentennial upgrade

2021-07-14T19:41:00-04:00

London’s National Gallery has announced the architect for its upcoming renovation that’s part of a bicentennial celebration planned for the museum in 2024.

Selldorf Architects will be in charge of the renovation tied to a planned competition called the NG200 Project.

Selldorff beat out Chipperfield Architects and four other UK-based firms for the commission said to be the institution’s largest in two decades. The firm is coming off of a recent successful renovation of New York’s Frick Collection, and will now look to another high-profile museum project with the potential for tremendous institutional impacts at a critical juncture for culture writ large.

The £25-30 million project will upgrade the museum’s Sainsbury Wing as well as some public spaces around its Trafalgar Square entrance.

A five-member panel had previously raised the shortlist cap to include a sixth entry after announcing the competition in February.

The Grade-I Listed building will be getting a new foyer and resea...

National Gallery in London to pursue £25m renovation

2021-02-16T11:22:00-05:00

London’s National Gallery is embarking on a £25m-£30m project to upgrade its building, to be partly completed in early 2024 to celebrate its 200th anniversary. There will be three key elements: upgrading the lobby of the Sainsbury Wing, creating a new research centre and improving outdoor space on the edge of Trafalgar Square.

The Sainsbury Wing, designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, will have obvious limitations to what work can be done, given its Grade I listed status. According to The Art Newspaper, the work will be phased over five years. The first step will be to select a design team, which will be led by an architectural firm. A call for interested design teams is due to be sent out today, after which five teams will be shortlisted, reports The Arts Newspaper.

I.M. Pei's National Gallery of Art building set to reopen this week in Washington

2016-09-26T17:17:00-04:00

From the outside, not much has changed. After a three-year, $69m renovation, the East Building of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, looks about the same as it did when it first opened in June 1978. [...] Step inside and the differences become clear. The gallery, which reopens to the public on 30 September, has managed to carve out more than 12,250 sq. ft of additional exhibition space without expanding its physical footprint.

↑ I.M. Pei, who designed the East Building, on the structure's original opening day, June 1, 1978. Photo © Dennis Brack/Black Star. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gallery Archives

Robert Venturi, Prince Charles & that false Corinthian column

2015-05-05T13:53:00-04:00

Today it houses one of London’s best permanent collection displays, but the 1991 Sainsbury Wing extension to the National Gallery in London was almost scuppered when Prince Charles and the other trustees opposed the architect of the new building, Robert Venturi. The row was over a false Corinthian column that the US architect wanted as a decorative feature on the Trafalgar Square façade of the new extension.

Budapest National Gallery/Ludwig Museum competition: Snøhetta and SANAA tied for 1st prize

2015-04-14T21:29:00-04:00

After a not-so-ideal turnout in its first run in 2014, The Museum of Fine Arts Budapest and the Városliget Zrt's Liget Budapest Design Competition 2.0 is a stark contrast! A few months after the architects for three of the development's buildings were announced, Snøhetta and SANAA tied for first prize for Budapest's [...] National Gallery and Ludwig Museum. However, it seems that the ultimate winning proposal is yet to be chosen between the two, after the jury meets with both teams.

Previously:

New competition launched for National Gallery and Ludwig Museum in Budapest

2014-11-05T13:36:00-05:00

The international jury choosing an architect to design a new National Gallery, which will also provide a new home for the Ludwig Museu in the Hungarian capital, has invited seven leading practices to take part in a new competition after a first competition did not produce a winning design. The seven architects invited to compete for the high-profile commission are: Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield, Mecanoo, Nieto Sobejano, Renzo Piano, Sanaa and Snøhetta.

Exhibition Review: 'Building the Picture: Architecture in Italian Renaissance Paintings'

2014-07-10T12:57:00-04:00

"Buildings in paintings have too often been viewed as background or as space fillers which play a passive or at best supporting role, propping up the figures that carry the main message of the picture. By looking afresh at buildings within paintings, treating them as active protagonists, it becomes clear that they performed a series of crucial roles."

Building the Picture: Architecture in Painting review – a show to change the way you look at art

2014-04-29T14:12:00-04:00

"Buildings in paintings have always been treated as a background, as something subordinate to the figures themselves," says co-curator of Building the Picture, a new exhibition at the National Gallery that aims to put the architecture of Renaissance paintings on centre stage. "We're arguing that the buildings are active protagonists. They're not just propping up the characters, but are also capable of carrying key messages and performing a series of crucial roles themselves."