Tate Britain yesterday unveiled its £45m project to transform the oldest part of its grade II* listed Millbank building, opening up a new sequence of lower level spaces.
The project was led by project managers at Deloitte Real Estate, construction manager Lend Lease and architect Caruso St John.
Director of Tate Britain, Penelope Curtis, said: “The new Tate Britain opens up the Millbank entrance to reassert and enhance the original grandeur and logic of the galleries. Adam Caruso and Peter St John have created new spaces out of old and artists have helped to articulate a new sense of the public realm.”
The project includes the reopening of the main entrance to Tate Britain on Millbank, and the excavation of original architectural elements of the building. The changes will restore the historical logic of the building and include a new spiral staircase inside the entrance that opens up access to new public spaces below.
These include new learning studios, a dedicated entrance for schools and reception underneath the Millbank entrance steps, and a new archive gallery, which will present temporary displays from Tate’s extensive archive of artists’ letters and ephemera.
The lower level Rotunda
The Grand Saloon
The inaugural exhibition, curated by artist Paul Noble will be inspired by the history of the Tate Britain site as a penitentiary.
The project also incorporates the updating of the Rex Whistler Restaurant and a revamped cafe opposite, which will open onto an exterior terrace.
James Sheppard, associate director at Deloitte Real Estate, added: “The new works will be judged on design, but for me what really made this project a success is the sheer strength of team culture that Tate took time to foster. This permeated through everyone from carpenter, consultant and client to create the most focused, functioning and ‘can do’ project group. We were able to navigate the inevitable issues and produce a building of timeless quality, but also a project that was held to budget and was delivered bang on programme.”
Other members of the project team were structural engineer Alan Baxter & Associates, building services engineer Max Fordham, and cost consultant Turner & Townsend.
The South East Quadrant Gallery (left) and Members’ Area
The revamped cafe
