Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
The Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, officially opened its doors today.
New life has been breathed into The Magazine, a grade II* listed building in Kensington Gardens originally designed as a Gunpowder Store, hence the name, Magazine. With 900 square metres of new gallery, restaurant and social space, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery will be a new cultural destination in the heart of London.
Working alongside, Zaha Hadid architects, Arup provided engineering design services for the contemporary extension. The result is a light and transparent structure that complements, rather than competes with, the neo-classical architecture of the original building.
“The project presented a number of key challenges for the sensitive restoration of the existing building and the design of the new extension. We are all immensely proud of our contribution to this fantastic new addition to the Serpentine Gallery’s portfolio of buildings.
Ed Clark, Project Director, Arup
The Gallery is also one of the first buildings in the UK to use a simultaneous heating and cooling ground source heat pump at this scale. Arup’s engineering design aspirations included the ability to provide heating and cooling simultaneously and optimise heat transfer from both systems and ground boreholes. This innovative system reduces the energy reliance from the ground boreholes and recycles heat between different parts of the building.
The new Gallery is named after Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler, whose Foundation has made the project possible through the largest single gift received by the Serpentine Gallery in its 41-year history. This funding has enabled the unique listed building to be brought into public use for the first time in its 206-year history, providing a new cultural destination and landmark for London.