The National Portrait Gallery, founded in 1856, is uniquely placed to encourage reflection on the nature of British identity, individual achievement and the impact and influence of people making a mark on the country’s history and culture.

Over the past few years the Gallery has presented a number of critically acclaimed exhibitions and has enhanced its Collection with significant acquisitions including Van Dyck’s self-portrait. These significant successes have raised the Gallery’s aspirations and confidence. At the same time, a number of limitations to future success and growth have been identified by the Gallery’s leadership, and through public research and consultation.

Inspiring People: Transforming our National Portrait Gallery is a £35.5m transformational project for the renewal of the Gallery. It will provide an ambitious, more engaging, and much-needed re-display of the Gallery’s permanent Collection. Its principles also underpin the plans for an expanded national programme and digital strategy in order to reach new audiences onsite, online and nationally. The project will also transform the inside of the building, making it more accessible and appealing to the public as well as restoring historic features. The project represents the initial stage of a ten year vision to deepen the public’s understanding and enjoyment of the Gallery’s remarkable Collection

and to broaden its appeal to the widest possible audiences. The project will comprehensively enhance all of the building and ensure the Gallery’s continuing ability to be sustainable, and increase opportunities to generate income.

The renewal programme is designed to transform the services the Gallery provides to its visitors, physical and virtual, and in the way it presents and interprets its Collection, placing the needs of today’s and future audiences at its heart. The renewed National Portrait Gallery will do this through a transformed building that will be more attractive and welcoming, visitor-facing, and with a world-class exhibition programme. Our permanent collections will be displayed in innovative ways that will bring to life the stories of individuals and the multiple narratives of British history and culture; and there will be enhanced space for display and exhibitions, to welcome a larger number of visitors and provide a more enjoyable and engaging experience.

At the National Portrait Gallery we invite everyone to meet the people who have made – and are making – Britain what it is today. We want them to experience a closer connection to history, through the personal connection that portraiture provides Inspiring People is designed to help the Gallery fulfil its unique role as the nation’s family album, from the Tudors to now.

The Nation’s Family Album The National Portrait Gallery’s Collection is the largest and most prestigious Collection of portraits in the world. The Primary Collection of paintings, sculpture, miniatures, drawings, prints and photographs contains some 12,400 portraits of the most famous people in British history.

The National Portrait Gallery supports a range of innovative programmes to encourage and foster engagement with a wide audience.

Engaging Audiences

A Historic Building The National Portrait Gallery is housed in a Grade 1 listed building, designed by Ewan Christian and opened in 1896. It was the first portrait Gallery in the world.

Highly decorated features — large round-headed arches windows and doors, Corinthian pilasters, delicate columns, elaborate cornices and roundels — contribute to the character and appearance of the building.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan Director of the National Portrait Gallery

Inspiring PeopleTransforming our National Portrait Gallery

London Museum ForecourtsThe public presence of many of London’s major museums and galleries is manifest in a welcoming and characterful public space.

The main entrance to the Gallery is difficult to spot and there is no forecourt as in other major London museums and galleries, just pavement.

EntranceSince the National Portrait Gallery’s main entrance is set back and has limited forecourt space, there is a lack of space to appreciate the building’s rich, historic architecture.

Historically, the main entrance had a more open, generous approach, with a wider pavement and road and younger trees, allowing uninterrupted views of the highly decorative facade.

Way-Finding Although rich in architectural detail and ornament, the entrance is easily missed when approaching it from the either side on Charing Cross Road.

The National Portrait Gallery is easy for visitors to miss. Its East Wing design matches the National Gallery and therefore many people assume that it is part of that building. This leads to confusion with people arriving at the National Portrait Gallery looking for the entrance to the National Gallery.

Public Realm Currently, there is an area of public realm to the north of the National Portrait Gallery that comprises a Grade 2 listed memorial statue of Sir Henry Irving and paths with gardens surrounded by railings. The gardens, although well maintained do not offer any opportunity for the public to sit or gather.

Congestion A substantial increase in visitor numbers means that the main entrance hall is congested throughout most of the day. This is compounded by the large revolving door and draught lobby, which slows people down and occupies a large proportion of the space.

Despite being one of the most significant and architecturally impressive spaces in the building, the entrance hall inspires little incentive to gather and linger or rest due its constricted size.

The National Gallery has open space in front of the building and also Trafalgar Square that give the building appropriate prominence and stature. The NPG does not share this distinction and from the north, the triangular garden with the statue of Henry Irving actually blocks the Gallery rather than help to raise the status… In some ways, elements of the outdoor areas around the Gallery diminish from the architectural quality of the elevations, creating hemmed and unattractive spaces.

National Portrait Gallery ‘Statement of Significance’

British Museumpublic forecourt 7100m2

Royal Academypublic forecourt 2000m2

V&Apublic forecourt 1450m2

NPGpublic forecourt 25m2

Ground Floor Plan: Entrance Lobby 150m2

Area North of the Gallery – Limited Opportunities to Appreciate the Gallery Building

Congestion in the Entrance Lobby

Historically Generous Approach to the Main EntranceEntrance Today

Approach from Trafalgar Square (south) Approach from Leicester Square (north)

What’s Not Working?A Place in the City

Inadequate Learning Centre The existing single education studio struggles to meet the needs of increasing users. Facilities have not been updated since 1992 and wear and tear is significant due to continual use. Equipment, storage facilities and cloakroom facilities are inadequate; there is no lunchroom; and there are no dedicated WCs.

Dated Gallery SpaceSome of the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent galleries have not been reviewed for 25 years. Visitors have commented that the displays appear static, too formal, lacking in cohesion and worn; there are reported problems with a lack of interpretation and dated information in some areas.

The Gallery fabric is starting to show signs of deterioration due to wear and tear. Furniture and fixtures such as electrical switches, walls sockets and other visible support items are dated without consistency of location between different rooms and floors.

The lack of natural light at First Floor, due to timber shutters fitted over windows and dark colour schemes, leads to visitors experiencing ‘Gallery fatigue’.

Rediscovering the East WingThe East Wing is a valuable, under-utilised space with only a small portion now publicly accessible - considerably less than was historically available.

In Ewan Christian’s original design, the majority of the Wing was intended to be Gallery space, with the ground floor as a Sculpture Gallery and student room, and the first floor for art work hung on walls. The second floor provided spaces for photography and picture cleaning as well as materials.

Over the twentieth century, the East Wing has been adapted to cater for staff offices at First and Ground Floor, and informal storage at Second Floor. The northern most portion of the Ground Floor has acted as a shop and, along with the basement café, is currently the only accessible part of the East Wing to the public.

The basement has fine historic exposed gault brick with arched and barrel vault detailing. Half of the basement floor is currently occupied by a café , which also extends into the lightwell with a glazed roof, completed in 2000. The brick here has been cleaned.

However, the remaining portion of the level is restricted with controlled entry. There is some plant located here, and the bricks have not been cleaned or repaired.

Upper Basement Floor Plan: Learning Centre 70m2

Existing First Floor Gallery Space

BF

GF

1F

What’s Not Working?Interior Spaces

Creating a Second, Welcoming Entrance

Placing the NPG in the City One of the key issues for the Inspiring People project is to enhance the identity of the National Portrait Gallery and improve its presence both on street and within London.

The issues previously identified demonstrate that there is an opportunity to create a new public space and forecourt to the north, in the area immediately adjacent to the Gallery where Orange Street and Charing Cross Road meet. This area of pavement and gated gardens is currently underused.

A new forecourt in this location will allow a more welcome and generous entrance to the Gallery and will enhance the Gallery’s presence, relieving the existing congested visitor access via the eastern entrance.

The Façade Following a series of detailed studies, it is our feeling that the best way to achieve a more welcoming and engaging National Portrait Gallery is to create a new entrance on the north façade.

It is anticipated that this approach will alleviate congestion issues, while also opening up the Gallery to the North.

The current thinking is to arrive through the first set of three windows, which will be carefully altered to form three doors leading into a new spacious entrance hall and through to the heart of the building. In order to achieve this new open and welcoming entrance, a bridge would span the existing lightwell and a ramp and stair would need to bring people up to the level of the hall.

ForecourtThe design of the new forecourt is currently in progress with many issues to consider.

It is proposed that a ramped surface will ensure disabled access whilst the existing historic railings are repurposed and incorporated within the new layout as part of the external works and reconfiguration of the public realm.

One proposal retains the Sir Henry Irving statue in its current site in front of the north elevation. However, consultation with the Irving Society has been initiated to explore the option of reorienting the statue, which could provide a more legible route into the Gallery as well as enhancing the statue’s relationship to the neighbouring Theatreland.

Proposed AccessExisting Access

Existing Forecourt Proposed Forecourt

Jamie Fobert Sketches

Approach from Leicester Square Approach from Charing Cross RoadSite in context

Opening of the Left Set of Triplet Windows Creates a Direct Connection to the Main Stair and Ticket Hall

Possible Solutions

Inspiring People seeks to transform the quality of learning provision through the creation of a fit for purpose Learning Centre. We have identified an opportunity to give over the basement levels of the northern portion of the main building to schools and education groups.

It is proposed that the Upper Basement level isreconfigured but remains within the confines of the existing fabric.

The existing unsightly storage area that currently infills the Lower Basement is proposed to be removed and the light well opened up with two glazed volumes partially occupying it.

The new Learning Centre will accommodate much-improved facilities such as separate wet and dry studio spaces, dedicated WCs, lockers and cloakroom and adequate breakout space, including external space, all of which the existing Learning Centre lacks.

The result will be a much improved offer for learning in a high quality set of spaces, with a dedicated and fully accessible entrance.

Creating a New Learning Centre

The creation of a new Learning Centre provides an opportunity to celebrate some of the existing fabric and historic details to provide an improved and more inspiring learning environment.

The new Learning Centre will be significantly enhanced by opening up light wells and creating outside areas.

Historical details that have been covered over with modern finishes will be revealed to give the spaces character and context.

Existing Lightwell to North Elevation

Existing North Elevation

Proposed North Elevation

Proposed Double Height Basement Studio

Proposed Upper Basement Plan

Proposed Lower Basement Plan

Possible Solutions

The Learning Centre

Historic Fabric

The Inspiring People project is keen to make correct, historically informed and research based restoration in the appropriate areas, including the galleries.

The Gallery refurbishment proposals will beinformed by historical drawings and analysis of the built fabric. We will examine primary evidence from the building itself, through methods such as historical paint testing.

Gallery Refurbishment

1855 - The South Kensington Museum 1896 - The Imperial Staircase (Gallery 33) Etching

Plain Cornice - No Picture Rail Arched Door Opening Flat Door Opening

Second Floor Room Hierarchy - Cornice Details Second Floor Room Hierarchy - Door Opening Details

Proposed Gallery Refurbishment

Research into the existing built fabric and Ewan Christian’s original design will be a key part of informing the proposed Gallery refurbishment.

For example, a study of the Second Floor galleries has established the original hierarchy of rooms through subtle changes in details. Elaborate ‘egg & dart’ mouldings on the cornice with a timber picture rail below appear in rooms that may have been seen as more grand due to being part of the primary circulation route from the main stair. Rooms that are accessed off these spaces have a simple plain timber cornice under the cove, with no picture rail under. This suggests these rooms may have been secondary to the other Gallery spaces on this floor. The shape of the door openings between rooms, arched or flat, also tie into this observation.

Historic Gallery Features

The Inspiring People project gives the National Portrait Gallery the unique opportunity to rehang and reinterpret the entire Collection, as well as upgrade the fabric of the building and showcase the world class Collection.

The Gallery spaces have a chance to be upgraded with new finishes and colour schemes that respect and restore the historic designs and concepts that Ewan Christian intended, whilst also bringing them up to modern standards to ensure they serve the Gallery’s needs for the present and future. This approach is one of timeless longevity, befitting to the Grade I listed heritage asset.

Gallery Rehang

Existing Gallery

Possible Solutions Refurbished Galleries

The East Wing is currently largely inaccessible to the public. In the original Ewan Christian design, the majority of the Wing was intended to be Gallery space, with the Ground Floor as a Sculpture Gallery and student room, and the First Floor for art work hung on walls.

Unlocking the Full Potential

The idea is to remove the modern shops, offices and staircases in the Ground Floor and to reinstate the original features, providing a flexible café/Gallery space that maintains a direct relationship with the street.

Additional Gallery space is proposed at first floor level with features such as historic window surrounds and panelling fully refurbished as part of the works. It is proposed that the windows at this level are treated with a combination of blinds and film so as to protect works of art on display. The Second Floor is to be refurbished accommodating an enlarged plant room that serves Ground, First and Second Floor spaces.

The proposal includes expansion into the currently unused plant and storage space south of the existing basement café in the East Wing. The attractive brick vaults and other architectural details will be cleaned up and repaired.

Ground Floor Plans

Basement Floor Plans

Upper Floor Plans

Existing

Existing Cross Section Proposed Cross Section

Proposed

Existing Ground Floor Plan Proposed Ground Floor Plan

Existing First Floor Plan Proposed First Floor Plan

Existing Basement Floor Plan Proposed Basement Floor Plan

Brick corbelling and arch details in the basement café

Rediscovering the East Wing

Public AccessRestricted Access

Possible Solutions

Sustaining the Gallery for the future

As well as creating a new entrance on the north elevation, the proposal seeks to make alterations to the Ondaatje Wing Main Hall and existing galleries, forming a connection through to the proposed forecourt. In this prime location, visible from all aspects of public circulation, will be a new, consolidated retail offer. This beautiful and engaging Gallery shop will be convenient and enjoyable for visitors as well as profitable for the Gallery.

Consolidating the Retail Offer

The National Portrait Gallery’s rooftop restaurant is unique and extremely popular. Alongside the project there is potential for the Gallery to further increase its commercial offer by gaining extra floor space for the restaurant through the creation of a new additional floor.

Rooftop Restaurant Extension

The potential of the Basement Café in the East Wing can be maximised by extending out into the vaults to the South.

Basement Café Extension

Proposed Ground Floor Plan

Proposed Third Floor Plan

Proposed Fourth Floor Plan

Proposed Ground Floor Plan

Proposed Basement Floor Plan

Proposed Ground Floor Retail Offer

Possible Solutions

We would now like to seek your views on the current issues with the National Portrait Gallery and our suggested approaches to solutions.

Please take a moment to fill out a comment form or take one away and post it back to us using the FREEPOST address to arrive no later than 28th November.

Alternatively, visit the project website, providing comments by no later than 28th November: www.npg.org.uk/inspiring-people

Or you may speak to a member of the Inspiring People team here today.

Your Feedback

Internal Mosaic Flooring

We have begun early discussions on the issues explained in this exhibition with Westminster City Council, Historic England and a number of amenity societies. Once we receive wider feedback from this public exhibition we will consider all the views and seek to respond to them through the ongoing design process.

Our aim is prepare a preferred scheme to provide an update during December or early January on how your suggestions have been taken on board.

We will aim to submit a planning and listed building consent application around mid-January 2019 with works to begin around July 2020.

The indicative timeline is:

• Initial discussions with WCC/HE and Key Stakeholders – September/October 2018

• Initial public exhibition – November 2018• Consultation update – December 2018/Early

January 2019• Planning and listed building consent application

submitted – Mid January 2019• Planning and listed building consent decision

date – May 2019• Commencement of works – Summer 2020• Completion date – Spring 2023

Project Timescale

SEPT

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023OCT OCTNOV NOVDEC DEC J J J JS S S SF F F FJ J JO O O OM J J JN N N NA A AA A AD D D DJAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT M M M M MJM JA AM

Commencement of works

Completion date

Planning and listed

building consent

application

Initial public exhibition

Planning and listed building

consent decision date

Consultation update

Technical & specialist design

Initial discussion with WCC / HE and Key stakeholders

Inspiring PeopleNext Steps