The Whitworth Art Gallery Extension Design Competition

The Whitworth Art Gallery wants to create an extension to the Gallery on the South West corner, a skirt extending into our grounds that architecturally reconnects the Gallery to its park. We want an extension that is a work of art in its own right and which, in offering a second park-facing entrance, opens up the Gallery to the many community users of the green space. We want the extension to feel semi-permeable and visible to park users and for the park to be apparent from inside the Gallery, emphasizing ease of movement between the two spaces. The development should showcase use of innovative green technologies (eg. solar, green roof or walls, green oak) and use high quality sustainable materials. These should, where appropriate, be locally sourced and also echo the use of wood, slate and glass in the 1960s Bickerdike remodeling. An attention to quality and durability should be evident throughout the new building and it should echo the elegance and simplicity of the current Gallery spaces.

The new extension must be a space where collections, collections access and learning combine. We envisage it will be up to 560 m2. We are open to it including one or two floors, or being a combination of double height spaces and multiple levels.

http://www.architecture.com/competitions