The Hepworth, Wakefield Art Gallery, David Chipperfield Design, Project, News

The Hepworth Wakefield : Architecture Information

Wakefield building - design by David Chipperfield Architects, England, UK

13 Oct 2012 The Hepworth Stirling Prize Favourite Stirling Prize : Architecture News Six Buildings + Architects photograph © Iwan Baan 28 Jun 2012 The Hepworth Wakefield Wakefield, UK Design: David Chipperfield Architects RIBA Awards 2012 Citation: The Hepworth Wakefield Approached across an elegant bridge, the gallery works beautifully in its gritty canal basin context, suggesting it belongs and at the same time is something rather special. Its scale changes as you approach and enter it. What appears to be a fairly random set of boxes in plan soon reveals its logic, with spaces such as the shop, cafe, education room and offices on the ground floor radiating out from the entrance space. A mauve MDF lined stair takes you up to the first floor galleries. The Hepworth Wakefield designed by David Chipperfield Architects: Courtesy The Hepworth Wakefield. photos © Iwan Baan The long slit roof-light in each gallery is a recurring theme that models each space whilst the carefully placed windows serve to rest the eye and constantly locate the building against the local context. The Hepworth Wakefield - RIBA Awards winner, 2012 The Hepworth Wakefield - Building Information Location: Gallery Walk, Wakefield Architect: David Chipperfield Architects Client: Wakefield Council Structural Engineer: Ramboll UK Services Engineer: Ramboll UK Contractor: Laing O'Rourke Northern Contract Value: £22.8 million Date of completion: May 2011 Gross internal area: 5,232 sqm Chair of Jury: Professor Julian Marsh Regional representative: Simon Baker Lay assessor: Kester Rattenbury The Hepworth Wakefield images / information from RIBA 18 May 2011 Hepworth Wakefield The building by David Chipperfield Architects opens this week - new images online The Hepworth Wakefield, UK 2003-11 Design: David Chipperfield Architects THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD CONFIRMS YORKSHIRE AS A CENTRE FOR SCULPTURE The Hepworth Wakefield, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, opens to the public on Saturday 21 May 2011, putting the spotlight on Yorkshire as a world centre for sculpture, together with Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery. Named after Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield in 1903 and lived there with her family until the age of 18, with 5,000 square metres of gallery space, The Hepworth Wakefield is the largest purpose-built art gallery to open in Britain since the Hayward on London’s Southbank in 1968, and provides a permanent public legacy for the artist in her home city. The gallery site has been developed at a cost of £35 million as part of the £100 million regeneration of Waterfront Wakefield. It includes the restoration of former mill and warehouse buildings, the development of new residential, office and leisure facilities, and outdoor landscaping with a new pedestrian bridge. The gallery is funded by founding partners Wakefield Council and The Hepworth Estate; major funders Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund with additional funding from European Regional Development Fund, Homes and Communities Agency and Yorkshire Forward. The highlight of The Hepworth Wakefield’s permanent collection is a group of over forty works given by her family that provides a unique insight into Barbara Hepworth’s working methods and creativity. The Hepworth Family Gift, donated through a special scheme facilitated by the Art Fund, comprises a unique collection of prototypes and models in plaster, aluminium and wood, from which casts were made in bronze or aluminium at the foundry. The majority are original plasters on which Hepworth worked with her own hands. Shown alongside the plasters will be tools and materials from Hepworth’s studio. The installation, spread over two dedicated gallery spaces, includes the full-size prototype made by Hepworth of perhaps one of her best- known sculptures, Winged Figure, commissioned for the John Lewis Partnership building in Oxford Street London and installed in 1963. The Hepworth Wakefield has forged partnerships with the nation’s leading arts organisations including Tate, the Arts Council Collection and the British Council, to secure a programme of key loans that put the focus on Wakefield and Yorkshire as a centre for modern and contemporary art. The opening displays include works such as Danaïde by Constantin Brancusi c. 1918 and Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue by Piet Mondrian, 1935 from the Tate; The Snowstorm: Spiral Motif in Black and White by Victor Pasmore, 1950-51 from the Arts Council Collection; 1935 (white relief) by Ben Nicholson from the British Council Collection and J.M.W. Turner’s Wakefield Bridge (c.1798) from the British Museum. The city’s own collection, including over 6,000 works, built up over 80 years, includes important works by Barbara Hepworth and Yorkshire’s other internationally celebrated artist, Henry Moore, alongside pieces by other leading British artists including David Bomberg, Harold Gilman, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Ben Nicholson, William Scott, Patrick Heron and Lucie Rie. The opening displays concentrate on Barbara Hepworth, placing her work in a local, national and international context. The Hepworth Wakefield, installation view, 2011: Courtesy The Hepworth Wakefield. photos © Iwan Baan Complementing the collection displays, The Hepworth Wakefield will present an ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions. The inaugural exhibition Hot Touch will present the work of internationally acclaimed sculptor, Eva Rothschild, running from 21 May – 9 October 2011 and will feature over 16 new works created by the artist specifically for the gallery spaces. It will be Rothschild’s first major solo show in a UK public gallery for four years. The Hepworth Wakefield, set in the historic waterfront area of Wakefield on a landmark site on the banks of the River Calder, has been designed by the internationally acclaimed David Chipperfield Architects. Spread over 5,000 square metres, the visitor can explore 10 light-filled galleries and learning studios; an auditorium; an archive; café and shop with an outdoor terrace and gardens. These can all be accessed via a new pedestrian bridge over the River Calder, leading to The Hepworth Wakefield. The opening of The Hepworth Wakefield is a highlight of Art in Yorkshire, a region-wide project supported by Tate. This year-long celebration of the visual arts across 19 galleries in Yorkshire is led by York Museums Trust in association with Arts Council England, MLA and Welcome to Yorkshire. Illustration of The Hepworth Wakefield: picture © David Chipperfield Architects Councillor Peter Box, Leader, Wakefield Council: “I passionately believe that the opening of the Hepworth Wakefield will lead to real benefits to our community, encouraging more investment in the future of our city and placing Wakefield on the world stage as a major centre for visitors from all over the country and abroad.” Simon Wallis, Director, The Hepworth Wakefield, said: “This is a moment to savour for so many people who have worked together over the last decade to see the dream of the Hepworth Wakefield realised. We are proud to present the work of Barbara Hepworth, a daughter of this city, in this superbly designed gallery and to develop an international centre for the visual arts, which will attract artists and visitors from all over the world.” Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council is proud to be a major supporter of The Hepworth Wakefield, investing £5.5 million of National Lottery funds to help create this world-class gallery. We are delighted that they will also be funded as part of our national portfolio from 2012 -15. The opening is one of the cultural highlights of 2011 and will cement the increasing national and international profile of Yorkshire as a centre for the presentation and understanding of sculpture. We hope that the gallery, like the ground-breaking work of Barbara Hepworth, will inspire visitors from far and wide and become a creative centre for the people and communities of Wakefield and beyond”. Dr Sophie Bowness, granddaughter of Barbara Hepworth, said: "On behalf of our family, I would like to thank all those who have contributed to making this remarkable gallery a reality. Our gift is a unique group of Barbara Hepworth's surviving prototypes, the majority in plaster, from which editions of bronzes were cast, and we hope it will greatly enhance understanding of her working methods. We have found the ideal home for the plasters in Wakefield, the city in which Barbara was born and grew up. We would particularly like to thank the Art Fund, through whom we have made this gift." Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures have left a legacy of artistic genius which continues to inspire us well into the 21st century. The opening of this much-anticipated gallery, funded with a £5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, will be a fitting celebration of Hepworth’s life and work as well as putting her home town of Wakefield on the cultural tourist map.” Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate said: “The Hepworth Wakefield is one of the most exciting and beautiful galleries in the United Kingdom. Its opening in May 2011 will bring tens of thousands of people to Wakefield, similarly to when Tate Modern opened, which brought hundreds of thousands of people to London. I think The Hepworth is a great building and it will offer a wonderful day out for people to come and experience Wakefield in a new way.” Antony Gormley, artist said: “The Hepworth Wakefield will become a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of sculpture and now with the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Yorkshire will be a place of inspiration for all.” Address: The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery Walk Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 5AW Contact: T: +44 (0)1924 247360 E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 5 Mar 2009 David Chipperfield Architects' Hepworth Wakefield Tops Out The topping out of The Hepworth Wakefield art gallery took place on 4 March 2009. photograph : Andy Paraskos Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, The Hepworth Wakefield will open in late 2010. Along with Wakefield's nationally important art collection, the gallery will feature a previously unseen collection of sculptures by the celebrated Wakefield-born artist, Barbara Hepworth. The Hepworth Wakefield will also hold major exhibitions by some of the world's leading contemporary artists. Nick Hill, Associate Director for David Chipperfield Architects said: 'This extraordinary project results from the hard work of a highly committed team; not least the tremendous work on site that is now visible to all. There is a real sense of anticipation now that the completion of the gallery is in sight and we eagerly await the day when the doors open to the public.' Wakefield Council Leader, Cllr Peter Box said: 'I am delighted that we have reached this important milestone in what is one of the most exciting cultural projects currently underway outside London. I am very impressed with what has been achieved so far and grateful to all of our funding partners for helping us get to this point. image © Richard Davies 'This is another significant step forward for Wakefield and a testament to the tremendous ambition that we have in this district. The Hepworth is going to further enhance Wakefield's excellent reputation for world-class cultural attractions and make the district a leading destination for people who love art, architecture and design.' Now that the main structure is complete, work will begin inside the new building. As well as over 2,000m² of purpose-built gallery space, The Hepworth Wakefield will provide state of the art visitor facilities including a new café and restaurant overlooking the River Calder, a £2 million learning centre offering a varied programme of workshops, and a 100-seat auditorium where visitors can enjoy talks, lectures, performances, film screenings and concerts. The Hepworth Wakefield Architect : David Chipperfield Architects Previously: Groundbreaking for David Chipperfield Architects' The Hepworth Wakefield 7 Dec 2007 image © David Chipperfield Architects & Steve Whitton Construction of David Chipperfield Architects' The Hepworth Wakefield will start on Monday 19 November. Completion of the 5,050 m2 gallery is scheduled for 2009, with public opening in early 2010. Laing O'Rourke Northern Ltd will act as main contractor for the two year construction programme. The gallery will play a vital role in the redevelopment of the Wakefield Waterfront, on a prominent site at the head of the River Calder. The two-storey building is formed from a conglomeration of differently sized trapezoidal shaped blocks, responding to the scale and rooflines of the surrounding small scale industrial buildings. With water on two sides and visibility from all directions, the site - and therefore the building - has no front or back elevation. The project will provide the city with a vibrant centre for the community that responds to the collective forces of the artists represented within the gallery, most notably the gift of thirty plaster sculptures by Barbara Hepworth, donated by the Hepworth Estate. Wakefield Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Sport Cllr Clive Hudson said: "We are very excited that work on The Hepworth Wakefield will be starting in November. The gallery will open up access to Wakefield's internationally recognised collections and provide new opportunities for local communities, families, schools and visitors to get involved. "This is a fantastic opportunity for Wakefield - we are looking forward to opening The Hepworth Wakefield to the public as part of our 2010 Festival of Culture celebrations." The Hepworth, Wakefield is the relocation and expansion of the city's existing art gallery to the conservation area at the headland of the River Calder. The gallery's existing collection contains major British and European artists and The Hepworth, Wakefield will additionally house a unique collection of thirty original plasters by the locally born artist Barbara Hepworth. The gallery building is formed from a conglomeration of differently sized trapezoidal shaped blocks, responding to the scale and rooflines of the surrounding small scale industrial buildings. With water on two sides and visibility from all directions, the site - and therefore the building - has no front or back elevation. The building blocks form the rooms of the building. The galleries on the upper floor are sized according to the scale of the works with smaller rooms for earlier works and larger rooms for contemporary works. At the lower level the rooms contain the other gallery functions - a performance space, educational workshops, public facilities and the administration and back of house areas. For more information on The Hepworth Wakefield please visit www.hepworthwakefield.com which features the 'HEPCAM' - a live webcam link to the construction site.

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The Hepworth Wakefield - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

Website : www.hepworthwakefield.org

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