For its bicentenary, the National Gallery London has embarked on transformative capital projects to create a more welcoming, inclusive and accessible Gallery that engages its prominent Trafalgar Square location. The first phase, which opens to the public on May 10 2025, integrates historic architecture with modern functionality
Project name
National Gallery
Architecture firm
Selldorf Architects
Location
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN, United Kingdom
Principal architect
Design Architect Purcell; Heritage Architect: Vogt
Design team
Project Manager: The NG200 Project Construction Manager: Gardiner & Theobald Structural Engineers: Arup Services Engineers: Arup Sustainability Engineers: Arup Pedestrian Flow: Arup Acoustic Engineers: Arup Lighting Consultant: L’Observatoire International Planning consultant: The Planning Lab Access consultant: David Bonnett Associates Wayfinding & Graphics: Thomas Matthews Community Engagement: Kaizen Access consultant: Jane Simpson Access Approved Inspectors: AIS Chartered Surveyors Fire Engineers: OFR Consultants Security: MFD/Thornton Tomasetti Business Case Advisory Services: Colley Associates Communications: London Communications Agency (LCA) Vibration Consultant: Bickerdike Allen Café / Espresso Bar furniture design (on ground floor): Studio Linse Espresso Bar design (on ground floor): Selldorf Locatelli Restaurant interior (on mezzanine level): LXA Locatelli cocktail bar (on mezzanine level): Selldorf Bookshop design (both mezzanine level and ground floor): RFK / Ryder Gallery Shop (on ground level): RFK / Ryder Digital visitor experience: The Office of Future Interactions
Collaborators
National Gallery Leadership: Director: Gabriele Finaldi. Deputy Director: Paul Gray. Project Director NG200: Sarah Younger
Completion year
The first phase 2025
Lighting
L’Observatoire International
Typology
Cultural Architecture > Gallery
The Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum in the Guangming District of the city opens today. Showcasing the scientific endeavour, ground-breaking research and future possibilities of technology, this new institution will explore the power of science and the technological advancements defining our future.
Project name
Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Photography
Virgile Simon Bertrand
Principal architect
Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Jinqi Huang, Berkin Islam, Billy Webb, Cheryl Lim, Christos Koukis, Federico Fauli, Juan Montiel, Jurij Licen, Michal Wojtkiewicz, Bogdan Zaha, Michael On, Yuxuan Zhao, Enoch Kolo, Nastasja Mitrovic
Collaborators
Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co. Ltd. (BIAD)
Interior design
J&A (Jiang & Associates)
Structural engineer
Capol International & Associates Group
Environmental & MEP
Capol International & Associates Group
Lighting
GD-Lighting Design Consultancy Co. Ltd.
Client
The Bureau of Public Works of Shenzhen Municipality
Typology
Cultural Architecture › Museum
As a leader in China's white-feathered broiler chicken industry, Sunner Group has established the largest broiler chicken breeding and processing industrial chain in the country.
Project name
Sunner Museum
Architecture firm
Atelier Alter Architects
Location
Sunner Group Complex, Guangze County, Nanping City, Fujian Province, China
Photography
Highlite Images, Cyan & Orange Images, Atelier Alter Architects
Design team
Atelier Alter Architects (Lead Architects: Xiaojun Bu, Yingfan Zhang)
Collaborators
LDI: Beijing Yanhuang United International Engineering Design Co., Ltd. (Project Leader: Haicheng Jian). Façade Engineering: Ping Zhu. Exhibition Design: Atelier Alter Architects, Jiangsu Science Dream Exhibition Technology Co., Ltd., VI Design: Jiangsu Science Dream Exhibition Technology Co., Ltd.
Interior design
Atelier Alter Architects
Structural engineer
Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd. (Project Leader: Shichang Duan)
Landscape
LOCUS Associates,Ltd.
Lighting
Z Design & Planning
Construction
Beijing No. 3 Construction Engineering Co., Ltd.
Client
Fujian Sunner Holding Co., Ltd.
Typology
Cultural Architecture › Museum
The architectural design competition for the new exhibition building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen aims to relocate the currently Budapest-based museum to a new, innovative, and environmentally conscious museum building.
Project name
New exhibition building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen
Location
Debrecen, Great Forest, Hungary
Tools used
ArchiCAD, Rhinoceros 3D, Grasshopper
Principal architect
Zoltán Tima, András Borbély
Design team
Zoltán Tima, András Borbély, Veronika Borzsák, Máté Szabó, Balázs Tóth, Barót Bálint Bárány, Zsófia Szulágyi
Collaborators
• Landscape: Sándor Mohácsi, Lenke Karácsonyi • Structural engineer: József Almási, Bálint Nemes • Environmental & MEP engineering: Csaba Makáry • Materials: wood, glass, steel, ceramic tile • Budget: 54 891 903 555 HUF
Visualization
Barna Bózsó
Typology
Cultural Architecture > Museum
The proportions of the façade of “Jan” draw inspiration from the Tabatabaei and Broijerdi House in Kashan, an enduring architectural masterpiece that holds within its walls a timeless love story. In “Jan” just as divine love manifests in the harmony and delicacy of the human form the building breathes with the rhythm of light.
Architecture firm
Jalal Mashhadi Fard Studio
Principal architect
Jalal Mashhadi Fard Studio
Design team
Jalal Mashhadi Fard, Hossein Mashhadi Fard
Collaborators
Sorour Eskandari, Mahdi Eghbali, Alireza Ghahreman
Interior design
Jalal Mashhadi Fard
Civil engineer
Mohsen Mohammadian, Mojtaba Shahmoradi
Landscape
Jalal Mashhadi Fard
Lighting
Jalal Mashhadi Fard
Supervision
Mohsen Mohammadian, Hossein Mashhadi Fard
Tools used
Autodesk 3ds Max, Lumion, Revit
Construction
Javad Mashhadi Fard, Hossein Mashhadi Fard
Material
Concret, Stone, Tiles, plaster, wood
Typology
Cultural Architecture > Cultural Center
Reggio Calabria’s mayor, Giuseppe Falcomatà and Zaha Hadid Architects’ director Filippo Innocenti have laid the foundation stone of the new Centre of Mediterranean Culture, marking the start of the project’s construction.
Project name
Centre of Mediterranean Culture
Architecture firm
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA)
Location
Reggio Calabria, Italy
Principal architect
Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher
Design team
Abdel Chehab, Anja Simons, Davide Del Giudice, Gabriele di Giovanni, Hangyul Jeong, Luciano Letteriello, Mario Mattia, Michele Salvi, Marina Martinez, Roberto Vangeli, Stefano Rocchetti, Serena Pietrantoni, Vincenzo Barillari
Collaborators
Artuso Architetti Associati
Status
Under Construction
Typology
Cultural Architecture › Cultural Center
Restoration of a national cultural monument – a significant industrial building and city landmark designed by architect Josef Gočár. The project respects the structural and spatial characteristics of the original construction while adapting it for gallery use, meeting high standards for interior climate control, collection security, and sustainable...
Project name
Gočár Gallery in the Automatic Mills
Architecture firm
TRANSAT architekti
Location
Automatické mlýny 1961, 530 02 Pardubice, Czech Republic
Principal architect
Petr Všetečka
Design team
Kajetán Všetečka, Monika Šafářová, Petr Žák
Collaborators
Lighting supplier: Etna, Consultations: Josef Pleskot, Jan Žemlička, Structural engineering project: Stabil, Heating, cooling, and ventilation project: Optimal Engineering, Fire suppression system project: TRASER, Graphic design: Men at Work, Main construction contractor: Association for the Restoration of the Automatic Mills in Pardubice [Metrostav and Chládek & Tintěra], Main interior contractor: Dřevozpracující výrobní družstvo Jaroměřice, 2 Windows: Alglas
Built area
Built-up area 827 m²; Gross floor area 3,808 m²
Material
external wall structure – supplemented with exposed brick masonry and artificial stone. new passageway portals – fired bricks with an engobed surface. new underground structures – watertight concrete. supplemented interior load-bearing structures – exposed reinforced concrete. interior wall insulation – calcium silicate. interior accumulation and exhibition plinths – fired ceramic whitewashed bricks, sand-lime bricks in depositories. roof insulation and beam support – foam glass. roof skylights – custom aluminum profiles with dithermal glazing and aluminum louvers with motorized control. new interior windows added to the historical ones – stainless steel profiles with dithermal glazing and motorized control. screen blinds between windows – polyester, custom-made, automated control. interior partitions and doors – steel, safety glass, solid larch wood. interior railings – steel, solid larch wood. flooring – cement screeds, large-format oak planks. entrance hall, exhibition, and library furnishings – solid oak, custom-designed. event hall – acoustic wood-based wall claddi
Typology
Cultural Architecture > Gallery
The atrium of the historical Imperial Spa in Karlovy Vary, once the technical heart of the building, has been transformed into a modern multifunctional hall featuring state-of-the-art technologies and adaptable acoustics, breathing new life into this architectural landmark.
Project name
Concert Hall in the Imperial Spa
Architecture firm
Petr Hájek Architekti
Location
Mariánskolázeňská 306/2, 360 01 Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Photography
Benedikt Markel, Pavel Nasadil, Petr Polák
Principal architect
Petr Hájek, Nikoleta Slováková, Martin Stoss
Collaborators
Acoustic design and audiovisual technology: AVT Group [Petr Vlček, Martin Vondrášek]. Structural steelwork and mechanical technologies: GRADIOR TECH [Robert Nos, Martin Matoušek]
Built area
Usable floor area 492 m² courtyard
Material
Steel – structural elements. Expanded metal – shell. Plywood – flooring. 3D-milled plywood – acoustic rotating panels. 2 Glass wool – acoustic rotating panels. MDF – acoustic rotating panels
Budget
Total reconstruction costs of the Imperial Spa, including the hall construction: 59,5 mil. €
Client
Karlovy Vary Region
Typology
Cultural Architecture > Concert Hall