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‘We want to feel that this is a place to share. It’s a pretty nice part of the world to spend some time in’


saying: ‘It does feel like a different time now. Tings have changed. Now, it’s about being sustainable and stable.’ And sustainability takes into account not just the carbon footprint of construction, but also the wider social and economic landscape. Hospitalfield’s director Lucy Byatt sees their improved facilities and enhanced, year-round programme as key to unlocking this region as an attraction for culture-and food-loving visitors – perhaps starting or ending with the V&A in Dundee, 15 miles south, but also stopping to enjoy the spectacular Arbroath coast and fine, local food


scene. Says Byatt: ‘We want to feel that this is a place to share. It’s a pretty nice part of the world to spend some time in.’


Collective, Edinburgh’s homegrown artist- run, not-for-profit, has likewise transformed a historic set of buildings, the Category A listed, 19th century William Playfair City Observatory on Calton Hill into a year-round destination for art and food lovers, with its restaurant and cafe, and a rolling programme of exhibitions and workshops. But what marks both of these Scottish schemes out is their modest budgets and careful husbandry of resources in making


blue metalwork, are preserved, and new incisions between buildings subtly done – a new, York stone cantilevered staircase now connects the ground and lower ground floor, spiralling down in a nod to Chambers’ original staircase. A sense of ease in


transitioning through the building is reinforced by the progressions of materials and volumes – rooms increase in size as the building rises, with the Great Room, London’s oldest purpose-built exhibition space, restored to its full, top-lit glory at its apex. It will


also house The Courtauld’s collection of impressionist treasures. The biggest move by far was the creation of a new vaulted lower ground floor beneath the entrance – right under the road that provides vehicular access to Somerset House. Concrete and brick combine in this new lower ground reception space, while on the floors above, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary technologies combine to achieve the finest finishes to all the plaster, stone, wood and concrete elements. As part of the Courtauld Connects project – with the second phase focusing on the Institute’s learning spaces – the idea, says WWM, is ‘about a change of


culture, from an introverted institution segregated by disciplines to a culture of internal and external collaboration.’


Client The Courtauld Institute of Art Architects Witherford Watson Mann


Contract value £39m (includes £11m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund)


Area (gross internal) 5,824 sq m


Completion Phase 1 completed September 2021 (Courtauld Gallery, visitor spaces and conservation studios).


THIS IMAGE: FORBES MASSIE STUDIO BELOW: COURTESY WITHERFORD WATSON MANN ARCHITECTS


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