The main, oldest, and perhaps most important branch of the Tate Gallery has not received any architectural attention since James Sterling erected the Clore Wing in the mid-1980s to house Turner's work. In the following years, branches of the museum were opened in Liverpool and St. Ives, by 2000 the brilliant Tate Modern bureau "Herzog & de Meuron" appeared. And the main gallery, having received the prefix "Britain" for clarity, continued its traditional museum activities in its neoclassical building of the late 19th century.
But, finally, her turn came: the Caruso St John bureau, invited by the Tate management back in December 2006, presented a project for the reconstruction of this building, designed for implementation in 2011-2013. At the same time, it was decided to update the main, porticoed entrance from the Millbank embankment, as well as nine halls of the oldest part of the building. Now serving as a reference center, the domed rotunda will be used again for the exhibition. An archive room with an exhibition telling about the history of the museum and its building, as well as the famous Millbank prison, which stood on this site in the 19th century and served as a collection point for convicts sent to Australia, will be arranged under it; this hall will be connected with the rotunda by a spiral staircase.
The space of the domed central atrium will be completely open, and the upper floor, not used since the 1920s, will be converted into halls for closed shows. The cafe will receive a new room with a terrace, and the educational center will also be updated. Funds for the reconstruction will be fully collected by sponsors and philanthropists, it is not planned to use state aid.
