London’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), which reopened this week following a three-year redevelopment, has been photographing and interviewing the builders and contractors who worked on the project.
The scheme cost £41.3m and was the most extensive transformation of the gallery building since 1896. NPG was founded in 1856.
The project was led by Jamie Fobert Architects, with Purcell as the heritage architect. The main contractor was Gilbert-Ash.
Others who worked on the project included structural engineer Price & Myers; services engineer Max Fordham; project manager Gardiner & Theobald; and interpretation designer Nissen Richards Studio.
The portraits of the builders and contractors, which also include short interviews, will enter the gallery’s records as part of its archive.
The redevelopment comprises a complete redisplay of NPG's collection, a significant refurbishment of the building, the creation of new public spaces, a more welcoming visitor entrance and public forecourt, and a new learning centre.
Advertisement
Jamie Fobert, project architect at Jamie Fobert Architects, said: "The architecture project was primarily driven by the desire for the gallery to tum to face the city, to open up to the public in a way the original building did not, to bring back to life the gallery spaces, and to focus attention on the handsome Victorian architecture, which had been obscured.
“It has been an extremely collaborative project on every level. We have worked closely with heritage architects, Purcell, on all aspects of the building fabric, along with a design team of the highest quality.”
The project has increased public space by around a fifth, including converting office space into top-lit galleries in the newly named Weston Wing, which will house the gallery's contemporary collection.
This suite of galleries, including the Mary Weston Gallery, displays portraits by artists such as Andreas Gursky, David Hockney, Steve McQueen, Shirin Neshat, Sam Taylor-Johnson and Gillian Wearing.
The NPG redevelopment has been made supported grants from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and Ross Foundation.
The gallery closed for the redevelopment in June 2020.
Its neighbour on Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, is also planning a redevelopment. This will mark its bicentenary in 2024 and will focus on reworking the Sainsbury Wing, alongside improvements to other areas of the gallery and the surrounding public realm.
The National Gallery appointed Selldorf Architects in July 2021, with a team including Purcell, Vogt Landscape, Arup, AEA Consulting, Pentagram, Kaizen and Kendrick Hobbs.
