Wakefield is the hometown of the outstanding British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, and the new museum is primarily dedicated to her work. But its permanent exhibition will also include various works from the city's collection, and four of the 10 halls are intended for temporary exhibitions. The main task of the museum is to contribute to the development of the city, attracting both residents of the county and tourists from abroad. In this way, Hepworth-Wakefield is similar to Turner Contemporary in Margate, another Chipperfield museum that also opened this spring.
Like the Margaret building, the Wakefield building is located near the water, only it is not the sea, but the Calder River. The water comes up to its very walls, so the museum also plays the role of a protective structure that protects the city from floods - along with the nearby dam.
A pedestrian bridge leads to the entrance to the museum. The lobby and terrace of the cafe is open to the river, so this part of the building feels warmer than the rest. On the whole, the museum is a composition of 10 trapezoidal blocks of mass-painted concrete, and it does not have a main facade - as well as right angles. The austere look is a nod to the nearby 18th and 19th century warehouses that emerged at a time when Calder was an important route for transporting goods.
The ground floor is occupied by a lobby, a shop, a cafe, an auditorium and training workshops, as well as offices, an archive and a storeroom. A wide staircase leads up to the center of the building. All 10 halls of the museum are located on the second floor and are illuminated through the openings in the ceilings. In addition, many of them have windows that deliberately "frame" one or another view. The irregular shape of the blocks that make up the building is reflected in the interiors as well: none of the halls is a classic "box", moreover, they all differ in size.
N. F.
